Reward
by shirotora-san
Summary: [Dramaverse] Kumiko thought that giving a reward would be a good idea to get her wayward students of Section 3D to pay more attention in her class. What she didn't expect was for Shin to give her more than what she bargained for.
1. Thirty six

**06 / 15 / 08**

No, I have not given up on this story. And hopefully, you guys haven't, either. :) Please just bear with me until I work out the issues I have with this fic. To understand what I'm talking about, please see my profile for the explanation.

Thank you very much to all of you. You all inspire me to keep on writing. :)

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****DISCLAIMER: **Gokusen does not belong to me. If it did, I would've gotten Shin and Kumiko together in the end. Or if not, I'd keep Matsumoto Jun for myself. ;)

The Gokusen manga is written by Kozueko Morimoto and serialized in "You" magazine. The rights of the drama and anime belong to Nippon Television and Madhouse. But MatsuJun is mine, all mine! (…I wish.)

**A/N: **This fic is based mostly on the drama, since I haven't seen either the manga or the anime yet. I will, however, tweak Shinohara's role a bit. You'll find out how and why on the later chapters. :)

This story is dedicated to all Gokusen fans out there, especially **kiyasama **and **Moon Klutz**, whose wonderfully done Gokusen fics inspired me to write my own, and to **anna-neko**, who is the reason I'm writing fanfics in the first place. Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it. :)

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"**REWARD"**

A Gokusen Fanfiction

by shirotora-san

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CHAPTER ONE

_**Thirty-six**_

He peered beneath drowsy lids to watch her. Her back was facing the class and she was writing a mathematical problem on the board. His attention flickered briefly to the relatively easy equation and his mind processed an answer even before she had finished writing it. It wasn't because he was a genius, although a lot of people commend him for being exceptionally smart. It was simply because it was just basic math, the kind he learned back in elementary school. _Besides_, he mused as he peered at his classmates around the room. They were all lounging about as they talked and laughed and threw all sorts of stuff around and just basically studiously ignored the teacher in front of them. He smirked. _It's not that hard to be called "smart" when you're around these guys_.

"And the answer to this equation, is…!" her cheerful, syrupy voice resonated through the classroom and her pigtails bounced in the air as she whipped around to face her less-than-eager students. Several pairs of eyes blinked blankly at her in response.

He snorted. He leaned his head against the crook of his arm that was resting on his desk as his lids fluttered over his eyes once again in feigned sleep. As if the class would answer her. They probably would, if it was Fujiyama-sensei in front of the class with her high heels and miniskirts and hanging blouses showing off her oh-so-womanly curves. They practically drool all over her when she flirtatiously shows off her English skills. Fujiyama-sensei had the class wrapped around her dainty little fingers. Whereas _this _particular teacher…

"C'mon, class… anyone? …Please?" she pleaded as her gaze roved around the room at her bored-looking students.

…this short, skimpy excuse for a woman has to practically beg for her students' attention in her class. Add to that the fact that she was teaching _math_ to a bunch of boys who have no interest whatsoever in numbers, except perhaps when it comes to betting.

"Oi Yankumi!" Minami piped out loudly. "What do we have to gain if we answer, huh?"

"Gain?" she blinked behind her spectacles. Intrigued on what she'd say, he blearily opened his eyes to look at her. "Why… information! Experience! Education! The foundation of the success of our youth!" she exclaimed, each proclamation punctuated with a punch in the air.

He rolled his eyes. Then there was also her tendency to exaggerate. With her fist in the air like that, she made quite a dramatic pose. He stared at her intently beneath his bangs. Everything about her just seems so… _loud_. The way she talks, the way she moves, even the way she dresses. The red and white tracksuit she oddly favors makes her look ridiculously like a skinny walking stop sign.

"Feh," Noda scoffed. "How about a reward instead?"

She faltered. "A reward?" she repeated uncertainly. "For answering a simple math _equation_?"

"Yeah!" Uchi suddenly stood up. "Come to think of it, Yankumi… how come you never give us any reward, huh?"

That flash in her eyes. It appeared only briefly, fleetingly, but enough for him to see it. He knows that look all too well. He had seen that only on rare occasions, but during those times it did, he knew that there was only one thing on her mind.

It was the look of pure determination.

She stepped onto an empty chair and stood there as she clenched her fist in front of her. And the entire class (except for one particular person in the back row) leaned back in surprise as their strange teacher began another one of her famed speeches.

"Because, my beloved students, education should be its own reward! Do you know how much your parents pay institutions like the Shirokin Gakuen just so you'd be properly educated? They slave over their jobs all day and night just to earn enough money for your schooling! And do you know why? Because they're doing this for you! Because they know that if they invest in something as crucial and life changing as education, this is the one valuable treasure that nothing, and absolutely no one, can ever take away from you! Wealth, fame, power… all of that can easily be gone in a blink of an eye. But the knowledge you've gained through your education, that alone would be enough to help you make your mark in this world!"

Mouths hung agape at her bold proclamation as fire burned in her eyes.

He raised his eyebrows amusingly. It was amazing how she can get so worked up on something as trivial as a math equation.

"Jeez, Yankumi…" Uchi muttered as he flopped back on his seat, breaking the stunned silence that followed. "It's just _math_. Honestly, you get so keyed up over nothing."

"Yeah," Noda added. "The way you speak sometimes… it makes me doubt if you're really a teacher at all."

"And the way you fight…" added Minami thoughtfully. "I think you watch too many yakuza movies. It goes into your head. You actually start to act like one."

He stopped in the middle of yawning. Now this was an interesting turn of conversation.

"More like a leader of the group," spoke up Kuma suddenly. "Like a… an Ojou or something."

He glanced at his best bud out of the corner of his eye. Oh boy. That statement struck a little too close to home. He cringed inwardly at the thought of how what Kuma said would affect the now stupefied teacher in front of them.

Sure enough, like a deer caught in the headlights, she started backpedaling. "O-Oh… ha ha, Kuma, you are _such _a kidder! Of _course _I'm not an O-Ojou! Ha… ha ha!" she stammered out in a slightly higher-pitched voice.

This time, he really did cringe. She could take out men twice her size in a blink of an eye, but this girl couldn't lie to save her life. She looked so flustered as she laughed nervously and wrung her hands in agitation, and he had to duck his head to hide a smile when she nearly tripped over herself when she stepped back to the floor. It was a good thing, however, that she has the kind of personality she does. Because of her spunky, childish and oftentimes wacky attitude, her students never would have guessed just how close to the truth their thoughts about their weirdo teacher were.

He, of course, knew better.

As she rambled on and on about meaningless stuff to cover up her near-blunder, she was cut off in mid-sentence when he suddenly spoke.

"You talk too much."

The rest of the class turned to look towards the back row at the impassive boy who, not surprisingly, had been silent all morning… until now.

Her eyes widened slightly in surprise as she looked upon his slouched form. His gaze was unwavering upon hers, and a moment of silence passed between them. Understanding came into her eyes at his double meaning, and she smiled at him – perhaps because of gratitude more than anything, for she was grateful for his help in keeping her secret just that. He knew the look that passed between them was a private one. It was the kind of look that she shares only with him… just as she shares that part of her life with him in this class and no one else. It was a moment forever ingrained in his memory – one of the many he cherished about her.

He averted his eyes quickly. She has to stop smiling at him like that. It makes his cheeks grow a little warmer, his heart beat a little faster, and his knees feel a little weaker each time she does.

"Why don't you just give them the reward they're asking for?" he told her off-handedly, partly to avert the class' attention from her not-so-normal yakuza tendencies, partly so she wouldn't see the slight blush that was suddenly creeping up his cheeks.

"Hmm…" she said thoughtfully as she tapped a finger to her chin. "You do have a point there, Sawada…"

She, however, doesn't seem to notice. And it grated on his nerves a bit. _Clueless idiot_, he thought with a growing smile… which he immediately stopped. She _really_ has to stop smiling at him. It was affecting him greatly, in more ways than he would have cared to admit.

"Aw, you always take his word for it better than ours!" Minami pouted as he leaned back on his seat. "Why is _he _always the smart one, hmm?" he complained good-naturedly.

She laughed and walked over to Minami and playfully ruffled his hair, much to the boy's chagrin. "Perhaps if you study a little more, then maybe you'll be as smart as him!" she cheerfully said. She glanced back at the boy in the back row and beamed at him once more before she turned on her heel and bounced right back in front of the classroom as her pigtails bobbed all the way.

He shook his head. This time, he was unable to stop the telltale tug on the corners of his lips. She has to stop smiling at him like that… because each day, she's making _him_ smile more and more.

And frankly, it was unsettling him.

"So!" she exclaimed as she whipped around to face her students once more, her hands clasped behind her like a drill sergeant. "My beloved Section 3-D wants a reward, huh?"

But then again…

"If it's a reward you want, then it's a reward you'll get!" she announced with great zeal. It earned her loud whoops of delight from her students, and the joyous sounds resounded all around the classroom.

Her enthusiasm was contagious. He didn't even try to stop the smile that broke through his face at the sight of her clapping her hands excitedly, her face lit up and her features animated in joy.

Then again… he kinda liked it anyway.

"But the question now is…" she spoke enigmatically as the cheers died down. "What kind of reward would be fitting?" She slowly started to pace around the room, apparently lost in thought.

He settled back in his seat as the class quieted down. He watched her from behind half-lidded eyes, hidden by his unruly bangs and slightly obscured from view in his position at the very back of the classroom. He watched her silently, impassively… like he always does when she thinks no one's looking.

He watches everything about her. He watches her funny antics, her attempts in getting attention from the boys (in more ways than one), her crazy ideas that somehow manages to get the whole class involved. He watches her undeniable passion for teaching, her undying belief in her students, her unwavering stand for the well-deserved dignity of every person she meets. He watches her battle a constant fight for righteousness in everything she does, and watches her still as she braves the challenges of the world with that goofy smile on her face.

He watches her _everyday_… because he hasn't missed a single school day ever since she came to Shirokin Gakuen. Because everyday, it was becoming apparent that the reason why he suddenly _liked_ going to school… was her.

"C'mon Yankumi, tell us! What's the reward?" Noda leaned forward eagerly as he rubbed his palms together in anticipation.

He watched her as she stopped and cocked her head to one side, eyes slightly narrowed and lips pursed in a straight line in response to his friend's inquiry. He smirked. He knows that when she gets that kind of look, those little gears in her twisted little mind starts turning and inevitably evolving into another one of her hare-brained schemes which, in one way or another, would likely get them into trouble.

A knowing smile was starting to spread across her lips. "I think… I have a _very_ good idea on what reward would that be…"

He rolled his eyes and flopped his head back down on his arms that were lying on his desk. To any outside observer, he apparently looked uninterested. His face now hidden completely from view, he allowed himself an amused smile. Section 3-D always had a penchant for trouble. It wasn't as if they were always out looking for trouble; rather, trouble always seemed to find them. It had always been that way ever since school started, and it earned them the infamous brand of being the worst class ever.

But ever since _she_ came and became their adviser, Section 3-D practically became a permanent trouble-magnet. And she always, _always_ manages to get herself caught in the middle. She always jumps into the fray unannounced and get all tangled up in their mischief. Yet, she still manages to unravel the situation as easily as she could pin a two-hundred-pound man down to the ground. Whatever trouble her students get caught in, she always manages to bail them out at the very last minute. She does this at the risk of getting caught by their school's vice-principal and having her lose her job in the process.

And ironically, for such a devoted teacher like her, she doesn't seem to mind one bit.

His head still propped on the table, he opened an eye and peeked at her from beneath his bangs. That glazed look and slightly sinister grin was still plastered across her face. He wondered what kind of trouble she would be getting them into now.

She was now pacing the room again, slowly, mysteriously. Her students shifted restlessly in anticipation. "If you answer this equation correctly," she started to say. "Then you will get…"

His classmates eagerly leaned forward in their seats.

"A kiss!" she proclaimed as she gleefully bounced on her toes.

Blank stares.

"A kiss?" Noda repeated dubiously. "From who?"

She glared at him as if the answer was staring at him in the face. Apparently, it was. "Why, from _me_, of course! Who else?" she answered matter-of-factly. She flashed the class her best smile and struck a pose she had seen in those teen magazines – a look she wasn't quite able to pull off. In fact – and he had to smother his laughter with a cough – she looked downright hilarious.

Multiple choruses of "_Eeeww…_" resounded throughout the room, and she huffed in indignation. "What's wrong? I thought you wanted a reward!" she wailed and stamped her foot, much like a little child would.

"You're really off your rocker Yankumi," muttered Uchi.

"Yeah, why would _anyone _want to kiss _you_?" added Noda, his face scrunched into a look of utter disgust at the very idea.

"Che," said Minami. "If that's the kind of reward you'll give to get us to participate more in class, then—" he held up his hands in front of him. "_No thanks._"

Everyone in the class was groaning and muttering and complaining at her lame idea for a reward… except for him. If anything, he looked quite… intrigued.

_A kiss, huh_…

She pouted. "I think it's a very good reward, if you ask me! You guys should consider yourself lucky that I even offered it to you!" She suddenly brightened. "Isn't that right, Sawada?" she turned to him.

He raised his head, met her hopeful gaze, and flatly told her, "I think that's the most stupid reward I've ever heard."

She was utterly miffed, he knew. Admittedly though, she looks too utterly _cute_ whenever she's annoyed. He chuckled softly to himself. It gives him all the more reason for him to annoy her even _more_.

"_Fine_," she said as she threw her hands in the air in exasperation. "Everyone gang up on me. That's the way it's always been." she muttered.

"Reverse psychology isn't going to work on us, you know," said Minami as he grinned at her.

She glared at him. "Just don't blame me if no one hires you when it's time for you to hunt for jobs… just because you couldn't answer a simple math equation like this one!"

"Hmph," said Uchi. "That'll be the day."

She sighed in resignation as she started to walk back towards her desk. She was muttering curses under her breath about pigheaded teenage boys with a few choice words teachers like her weren't supposed to know… when his voice abruptly stopped her halfway through.

"Thirty-six."

Startled, she turned towards the source of the voice, which happened to be coming from the back row. She knew only one person would be sitting there. Confusion was evident upon her features. "What?"

"The answer is thirty-six," he repeated. He met her surprised gaze unflinchingly, a slight smirk upon his lips, with something akin to challenge evident in his eyes.

She furrowed her brows. She didn't like the look in his eyes. "What are you talking about, Sawada?" she demanded as she placed her hands on her hips.

Wordlessly, he pointed to the board behind her. Still somewhat perplexed, she turned around and stared. It took her a moment to register that he was referring to the equation she had written on the board; the very thing the class had been debating about in the first place.

She blinked once, then twice. She quickly calculated the problem in her head… then she blinked again.

"Why that's…" she started in awe. Slowly, she turned around to face the class once more. The boys were now staring curiously at their mystified teacher.

"Yankumi?" Kuma spoke up hesitantly. "Are you alright?"

Instead of answering him, her gaze traveled over to the lone boy sitting at the back of the room, who was smirking confidently at her… and a very haughty and dignified smirk at that.

"That's… _correct_, Sawada."

There was a few seconds of stunned silence, and then cheers erupted from the room as the class went over to congratulate the pokerfaced boy. They tapped his shoulder left and right and gushed about how smart he really was and how proud they were that at least _someone_ in this class had brains who they could actually brag about. He, however, didn't seem to notice the ruckus that was going on around him. It seemed that his gaze was fixated solely upon her, and it was starting to give her a very uncomfortable feeling.

She turned her back to him, partly to let him enjoy his fleeting moment in the spotlight, partly to avoid letting him see the blush that suddenly suffused her cheeks. Her hands went up to cup them briefly, and she found they were warm. A wave of confusion washed over her as she quickly let her hands fall to her sides. She had no reason whatsoever to feel the way she did then, and yet…

_Those eyes…_

As she quickly shook her head to get rid of that inexplicable feeling, she once again stared at the problem on the board. She squinted at it and frowned. Something was nagging her at the back of her mind, something she knew she _should_ remember… something… that they were talking about just a while ago…

"Wait."

She turned around abruptly as the light suddenly went on in her head. Everyone else looked at her questioningly, including him.

_Actually,_ she couldn't help but think. _He never took his eyes off me_. She shook her head. This boy had always been a mystery, and today was no exception.

She broke into a wide grin. "You answered my question correctly, Sawada!" she repeated brightly. "So that means…" she trailed off mysteriously.

Kuma looked at her curiously. "That means what, Yankumi?" he asked. He failed to notice that the boy behind him smirked even wider, for he already fully knew what she was going to say next.

"That means you get to have your kiss!" their teacher burst out cheerily.

The rest of the class blinked in response. Unsure on how to react to that kind of declaration, they were spared from answering as the boy in the back row cut her off sharply.

"Don't flatter yourself, Yankumi," he said tartly. He leaned back on his chair, placed his hands behind his head and closed his eyes as he said coolly, "I would never kiss you in front of the class."

The entire class burst out laughing at her obvious humiliation.

"Mou," she muttered under her breath. _Stubborn, self-righteous little brat,_ her mind scoffed, and she had to bite her lip to prevent herself from saying it out loud… although she was sorely tempted to. Fortunately for her, the bell chose that precise moment to ring, signaling the end of her class.

She blinked. "Oh, is it time already?" she said to no one in particular. No one was paying attention to her anyway. Her students were already quickly gathering their things and cramming them unceremoniously into their bags as they talked excitedly about whatever activity they had planned on doing after school.

"So what's the agenda for today, guys?" Minami inquired, slinging his school bag over his shoulder.

Uchi and Noda looked at each other and grinned. "Karaoke!" they yelled in unison and punched their fists in the air.

Kuma smiled and shook his head as he stood up to follow them. The three were already on their way out the door, their arms about each other as they laughed and sang ridiculously off-key. He was about to leave when he noticed that his best bud still hadn't moved from his spot.

"Aren't you coming, Shin-chan?" Kuma asked tentatively.

He didn't even open his eyes. "I think I'll pass."

Slightly surprised, Kuma asked, "Why?"

The barest hint of a smile graced his lips. "I have to pick something up," was his simple answer.

Kuma looked at him strangely before he hesitantly said, "Okay, if you say so… later then." He swung his bag over his shoulder and sauntered out the door.

"Tomorrow we'll try answering more than _one _equation, okay!" she was yelling outside the door and waving to her already departing students. "Don't be late, and _stay out of trouble you guys_!" she shouted over the noisy chatter in the hallway, making sure to emphasize that last statement.

Smiling and shaking her head, she gave one final wave before she stepped back inside the classroom and closed the door. She sighed exhaustedly and flopped on her chair as she blew a few stray wisps of hair out of her eyes. She then moved to organize the array of papers in her desk and started gathering her things as well. She stuffed them one by one into her shoulder bag. She was too busy arranging her belongings that she didn't even notice the immobile figure at the end of the room that was watching her intently, his intense stare following her every movement.

She proceeded to close all the drawers in her desk and lock them. Still concentrating on her work, she didn't even look up when he finally stood. His schoolbag hung lopsidedly over his shoulder as he walked towards her with slow, deliberate steps. Then, after she checked to see if her mobile phone was already in her bag – she wouldn't want to lose it again, goodness knows what happened the last time – she smiled in satisfaction. She slung her bag on her shoulder, fumbled with her keys, walked around her desk – and nearly collided with the tall figure that stood in her way.

"Sawada?!" she exclaimed as nearly jumped out of her skin in complete surprise.

Smirking at her, he picked up her bag that fell from her hands and gave it to her. "What are you still doing here?" she demanded as she placed one hand over her chest to still her erratically beating heart and took her bag from him with the other. "I thought you already left."

"Obviously, I haven't."

_Philosophic kid,_ she thought wryly. "Then _why_ are you still here?" she repeated as her breathing calmed down somewhat. "Classes are already over!"

In response, he did the very last thing in the world she expected him to do.

…He smiled.

She gaped at him. He actually smiled! Not a knowing smirk, nor a mocking sneer, but a sincere and genuine smile!

_Oh dear gods in heaven_, she thought as her mouth unwittingly fell open. _The world is coming to an end!_

He raised an eyebrow at her, and that Sawada-like countenance made her return to her senses. She snapped her jaw shut and shook her head. _And… I must be going crazy._

"Why aren't you with Kuma and the others?" she asked him. She dropped her gaze as she pretended to rummage through her bag. She wasn't sure why, but seeing him smile at her like _that_ made her knees feel suddenly weak.

_And I'm not even going to pretend that the reason why my cheeks feel so hot is because of the heat in the room…_

He shrugged. "I had to pick something up," he said with a suspicious gleam in his eyes. "To claim something."

"A-And what would that something be?" she managed to say, more because she couldn't think of anything _else_ to say.

_Please go away,_ she frantically thought. _Please go… or I'm going to come down with a fever…_

Gentle fingers slipped beneath her chin, urging her to look up. She stiffened in surprise, and her breath caught in her throat. Slowly, her gaze traveled upwards to meet his eyes… warm, tender eyes that were gazing softly at her as if… as if she was the most precious thing in the world for him.

Her eyes widened at that thought. _Sawada…_

He was leaning slowly towards her, his eyes never leaving her face as he held her gaze in his. Her heart started to pound so loudly against her ribcage that she was sure he could hear it. He tilted her face upwards, and he noted with a quiet satisfaction that she was blushing quite beautifully. His face came to rest inches from hers, and she could feel his warm breath against her already heated cheeks.

He gazed at her through half-lidded eyes, their lips now merely a hair's breadth away from each other. The hand that had been cupping her chin moved to stroke the side of her cheek with a finger, and her skin tingled from the trail it left. He then gently pressed his forehead against hers and, to her surprise, grinned at her in a very Sawada-like fashion.

"I'm here…" his eyes fluttered close. "For my reward," he breathed against her lips before he closed the distance between theirs.

It was subtle, brief and surprisingly gentle; a mere press of his lips against hers. Before her mind could even register what was going on, he pulled back. His lips still touched hers, but just barely. He lingered there for quite a while, and he seemed to relish the feel of her lips against his. He slowly opened his eyes to look at her and he was amused to see her blush deepen adorably.

She felt him smile against her lips. "Thanks," he whispered, and her lips felt his mouth form the word. He stroked her jaw softly with the back of his hand before he finally pulled away.

And just like that, he let her go and turned to leave.

She stood there frozen. Her mind refused to process a single coherent thought. She stared blankly at the spot where he had been standing just a moment ago. Through the sudden haze that seemed to have enveloped her, she distantly registered him walking away from her as he moved to leave the room. Forcing herself to snap out of her daze, she blurted out the very first thought that came into her mind.

"I thought you said you would never kiss me."

Her eyes widened as it suddenly dawned on her what exactly she had voiced out, and it made both of them realize the reality of what had just happened.

He stopped in his tracks just as he reached the door. He was silent for a few heart-stopping moments, and for an instant she swore she could hear the seconds ticking by loudly.

"That's right," he suddenly spoke, breaking through her thoughts. He reached for the doorknob.

"I said…"

He opened the door.

"…I would never kiss you…"

He threw her one last look over his shoulder. He was grinning.

"…in front of the class."

He pressed two fingers against his lips and held them in the air facing her in a pretense of a flying kiss and stepped out of the room. And before she could even work out exactly what he had meant by that, he had already closed the door.

As she stood there in a state of shock, her fingers slowly moved to touch her still-tingling lips. Everything suddenly seemed so surreal that she failed to notice a few things about her student who had just left her with a bold, enigmatic statement she had yet to figure out. Had she looked a little closer, she would have noticed the pink tinge in his cheeks. And had she touched them, she would have known that they felt just as warm as hers.

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Yamaguchi Kumiko, 23-year-old female adviser of the notorious Section 3-D of Shirokin Gakuen, known "affectionately" to her students as "Yankumi," devoted teacher with a guarded secret of being Ojou and sole heiress of a highly-organized Yakuza clan, fell to her knees and sank on the floor of the now empty classroom where she taught, unable to comprehend the fact that the one student who had always been a puzzle which she couldn't quite decipher became more of a mystery than ever, because he had just shown a side of him she never even knew existed… and because he had shown it to _her._

Sawada Shin, 17-year-old male student of Shirokin Gakuen, estranged son of a Senator, looked upon and respected as the unsaid leader of section 3-D for his unpredictable temperaments, clever mind and discreetly caring nature, had to duck his head as he walked outside his school's compound to hide his flaming red cheeks, still unable to believe that he was finally able to do what he could only dream about before, and despite numerous scenarios that ran in his head for days which fed and played on his fears on what could happen if he boldly acts on his feelings, he found that, surprisingly… she didn't seem to mind.

Both of them would have a hard time sleeping that night. Both of them would have trouble dealing with their muddled and disoriented thoughts later, with images of what just happened playing over and over in their mind. Both of them would have to cope with a myriad of confusing feelings that suddenly surfaced out of nowhere, and they won't quite understand their meaning. And both of them would wonder how the hell they could ever face each other tomorrow in class.

But right now, only one thing was running in their minds. And if they only knew, no matter how different from each other they may seem, right now… they were thinking the same thing.

_From now on, things are definitely going to get more interesting._

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_End of chapter one_

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**A/N: **This story was actually inspired by the drama episode when Kumiko promised the boys of Section 3-D a kiss if they win the intramurals. The idea kept niggling at me and wouldn't leave me alone. That's the reason why I just had to write this down. I like the way I wrote this chapter so much that I seriously considered leaving this as a oneshot. However, the plot nagged at me relentlessly in my mind, and I decided to expand this into a full-length fic. I hope this had been an enjoyable chapter for you guys, and I hope you'll find the succeeding chapters equally entertaining as well. :)

- shirotora-san

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Japanese Glossary:

**Che** - used as a mildly profane expression, much like a curse word.

**Mou** - said when expressing frustration or exasperation; usually uttered by females

**Oi** - roughly connotes to the English expression "hey!"

**Ojou **– literally means "Princess". The people of Oedo refer to Kumiko this way both as respect and affection towards her. Since she's the granddaughter of their boss, they call her "princess" much like the same way one would address the child or grandchild of a king or a ruler. Though Wakamatsu Kouzo is the 2nd-in-command, Kumiko is the one next in line to rule over the clan, since she's Kuroda's only living relative left.

**Shirokin Gakuen** - translates to "Shirokin Academy." **Gakuen** literally means school or academy.

Japanese Honorifics:

**-chan - **suffix added to a name to connote familiarity or closeness with the person being referred to; usually used within family members or close friends. Usually, females use this only among themselves, but they could also use this to address men, with the condition that the woman who uses it has a close relationship with the man she's addressing, like a brother or a boyfriend or a childhood friend. With men, they can use this to address any person, whether it may be a man or a woman.

**-sensei - **suffix added to a name to connote a professional position; usually used with teachers and people in the line of medicine


	2. Jumping Kitchenware

**A/N: Thank you very much to all who read and reviewed! **I was so overwhelmed by the immediate and positive responses to my fic that I couldn't believe people actually _like _the way I write. For a first-time poster at fanfiction dot net, I was kinda nervous about how people would react to my story. I'm just glad I made you guys happy. :)

Thank you so much! You are all so kind. I PROMISE I'll finish this fic, no matter how long it takes. So bear with me you guys, and stay with me until we wrap this fic up. ;)

"**REWARD"**

A Gokusen Fanfiction

by shirotora-san

* * *

CHAPTER TWO

_**Jumping Kitchenware**_

At the sound of the gate creaking noisily open, the people of the Oedo compound abruptly stopped what they were doing and turned to see who had just arrived. Instinctively, their stances stiffened, muscles strained and tensed. Their senses grew alert as they automatically reached for the weapons they always carried with them, which were discreetly hidden in their clothing. Years of training in their art taught them to always be on guard. They never took each passing moment for granted, because they knew that with the profession they had, danger may befall them anytime and without warning.

When they saw the glistening spectacles and the telltale pigtails, however, they all immediately dropped their heads and bowed as the famed and well-respected Ojou of the Oedo clan entered her home of sixteen years.

Kumiko closed the gate behind her before she let her arms slump to her sides, and the papers she carried almost slipped from her weary grasp. "I'm home," she called out tiredly.

"Welcome back, Ojou!" the men chorused as they bowed even lower. They kept their gaze fixated on the ground as she passed by them without a word. Her feet were uncharacteristically shuffling on the ground. They strained their ears and listened as they patiently waited for her footsteps to disappear in the background. They raised their heads slightly to check if she had already entered the household. Then they straightened and looked at each other, an unspoken question evident in their eyes.

_What's wrong with her?_

* * *

"Good evening, Ojou!" said Tetsu brightly as he and Minoru came to help Kumiko with her things. As they reached for her bag and the papers she was carrying, Kumiko waved their hands off and mumbled that she can carry these things herself.

Tetsu watched her as she struggled to remove her shoes. She was grumbling under her breath, her mind seemingly elsewhere. His eyes narrowed.

_Something's wrong._

She blew her hair out of eyes and carelessly kicked her shoes in the corner before she slipped into her house slippers. She removed her coat and hung it on the rack near the entrance. She then turned around – and saw Tetsu staring quite openly at her.

"What?!" she snapped.

Both Tetsu and Minoru looked taken aback. They hung their heads and quickly said, "E-Excuse us, Ojou!" before they moved to leave.

She immediately regretted her sudden outburst. "Wait."

Both men stopped in their tracks and turned to look at her hesitantly.

She sighed and massaged her temples with one hand. "I'm sorry," she said softly. She smiled at them apologetically. "You don't deserve to be yelled at like that."

Slightly reassured but still not at ease, both men approached her again, warily this time. When they saw that their slightly temperamental and highly unpredictable Ojou wasn't going to bite their heads off for any reason, they relaxed a little.

"Are you okay, Ojou?" said Minoru as he peered at her anxiously.

She sighed again. "I hope I am," she replied. When the two men looked confused at her peculiar answer, she laughed. "Don't worry," she told them. "I'm fine. Really I am. I'm just tired, I guess…"

She trailed off when she noticed Tetsu observing her again. It was making her feel really awkward. _One boy giving me inconceivable heated stares a day should be enough, thank you very much_. "Is there something in my face, Tetsu?"

Startled, he dropped his gaze in obvious embarrassment. "N-No, nothing Ojou," he stammered. Then slowly, hesitantly, he peered at her again. "But…"

She shifted uneasily at his penetrating gaze. _Don't tell me you're going to start kissing me too. _She winced inwardly at that sudden thought. "But what, Tetsu?"

He stared at her for a few more seconds before he abruptly asked, "Have you been drinking, Ojou?"

She raised her eyebrows at the strange question. "Why do you ask?"

"Well… it's just that…" Tetsu started to say. He scratched the back of his head, seemingly unsure of how to put into words what he wanted to say. With both Minoru and his beloved Ojou staring at him, waiting for him to continue, he sighed and settled for the direct approach.

"Your face is all red."

She blinked. "Oh," was all she could say. _It's been that way since that time in the classroom, _she thought. Her cheeks reddened even further.

Concern suddenly flashed in his eyes as another thought occurred to him. "Are you sick, Ojou?" Tetsu asked.

Both men took an involuntary step backwards at the high, obviously false laugh she suddenly let out. "Of course not, you guys!" she exclaimed as she pasted a smile on her face and threw an arm over each of their shoulders. "I'm as healthy as a horse, see?" She flexed her arms to prove her point.

Minoru blinked confusedly. "But you know, Ojou," he said as he peered at her more closely. "Tetsu's right, you do look a little red in the face."

Kumiko abruptly stopped laughing, and Tetsu winced. It was obvious to him that their Ojou didn't want to talk about it, and yet Minoru, bless the guy, was too slow as always to notice.

"Well," said Kumiko as she frowned. "I guess it's because of the heat. It's a hot day, you know."

_Although, _her mind betrayed. _I think it's because of a different_ _kind of heat…_

Tetsu nodded quickly, prepared to close the topic lest she gets angry with them again. Minoru, on the other hand, cocked his head thoughtfully and said, "But it's cloudy today."

Eyes widening at the dangerous glint that flashed on his Ojou's narrowed eyes, Tetsu decided to intervene the best way he knew how. He slapped Minoru on the head.

"If Ojou says it's hot today, then it's hot today!"

Finally catching the gist, Minoru clutched his offended cranium and slowly nodded.

_Thank you, Tetsu. _"That's right!" said Kumiko brightly. "Besides, look!" She let them go and threw her arms in the air, flashing them a big smile. "There's nothing to worry about! I'm still sane!"

…_I hope_, she silently added.

And with that, she skipped towards the kitchen and left two very befuddled men behind her.

Tetsu and Minoru looked at her retreating figure, then at each other, then back at her disappearing form around the corner.

_Something is _definitely_ wrong._

* * *

As she finally reached the solitary confines of the kitchen, Kumiko dropped her things on the table and took a deep breath. Her cheeks were starting to hurt from the effort of consistently putting on that cheery face. _Boy, these men know me too well_, she thought with a wry smile.

She tugged at the ties in her hair and pulled it out of her pigtails before she shook her hair loose. She removed her glasses and carefully placed them atop her papers as she thoughtfully combed her hair with her fingers. She stood on tiptoe and flexed her whole body as she stretched her arms high above her head. She then relaxed her stance as she fingered her shoulders and cocked her head from side to side. Her arms dropped to her sides as she closed her eyes and took a few, deep, calming breaths. Then she opened her eyes and smiled contentedly as her thoughts finally cleared.

_Deep, soulful eyes. Mesmerizing smile. Tantalizing lips that were so remarkably sweet…_

She growled. "I need something to drink," she muttered.

She brusquely walked over to the fridge and yanked it open. She peered inside and spotted a can of cold beer. She started to reach for it, but she seemed to have thought better of it and took the pitcher of iced water instead.

_That's right_, her mind mused as she took a cup. _Water is good._ _Water is cold. _She poured the drink onto it. _Water does not have that after-feeling of warmth when drinking beer._ She lifted the cup to her mouth. _Since I already feel hot enough…_ she drank it all in one long gulp. _Water is good, because it will make me feel cooler. _She exhaled a lungful of air after swallowing. _Right?_

As she slowly registered the feeling of ice-cold water, her lips felt all tingly… just as it had when it touched _his_.

She slammed her cup on the counter, making the dishes jump at the impact.

"Sawada, you…" Her knuckles turned white as her fingers tightened around her cup. "You _idiot_!"

* * *

In an apartment several blocks away, the quiet hallway momentarily shook at the force of the violent sneeze that Shin released just as he entered his suite. Sniffling, he made a mental note to dust the shelves more thoroughly next time.

* * *

Dinner was a relatively normal affair at the Oedo household. There was the usual bowing of heads accompanied by formal greetings when Kumiko and her grandfather, Ojou and Kumichou of the clan respectively, entered the room. Then there was the usual chopstick fight over the beef pot, and Kumiko managed to slap away persistent chopsticks that were sneaking in the pot and were hunkering for more than their fair share. And there was also the usual round of storytelling as each person eagerly shared to the rest of the group how their day went. When it was Kumiko's turn to talk though, the room fell unusually silent.

She shrugged and made a casual remark about how Section 3-D had been quite a handful as usual. She didn't seem to have noticed the sudden quiet tension that suffused the air. Or if she did, she pretended not to, as she simply turned her attention back to her food and ate quietly for the rest of the meal.

The men of the household looked at each other. They were all very much aware that there was something really 'off' about their Ojou today. Yet there was also a silent agreement among them, and they decided not to press any further… for now. Goodness knows how scary she can be when she's pissed. And so they settled back to eating and talking amongst themselves. They didn't notice how she didn't seem to be hungry at all, with the way she kept pushing her food around her bowl with her chopsticks.

It was something that did not, however, escape the notice of her grandfather.

Kuroda Ryuuichirou watched her as she silently raised her chopsticks to her mouth as if in a trance, the robotic movements quite unusual for his vivacious granddaughter. He knew that when she became like this, something was definitely weighing heavily on her mind. And he also knew that she would keep it to herself for as long as she could manage.

It wasn't as though she always kept secrets from him; on the contrary, she was always open to him about her thoughts and dreams. She always comes to him if she needs his help or seeks his advice, or if she wants his opinion or assurance about something, or if she simply wants someone to talk to. He feels closer to her than any other person in the world.

He watched her as she dutifully passed the food and drinks around the table. She smiled and nodded her head to whoever acknowledged her.

She does, however, have a habit of keeping her problems to herself. She even goes so far as to shoulder whatever burdens she's carrying on her own, so as not to worry the people she cares for. Sometimes though, things could get quite out of hand when she tries to resolve matters by herself. Because more often than not, when her temper finally snaps, someone gets beaten up in the end. Badly and brutally.

He winced. It was the one thing he both adored and detested about his granddaughter. He shook his head. Sometimes… she was too much like her mother. Then again, Yuriko probably inherited that kind of tenacity from him.

He looked at her again and caught her let out a deep breath before she perked up and smiled at Minoru, who didn't seem to notice the distracted look she had earlier. He frowned slightly.

Either that, or she really _was_ keeping something from him. If there was one thing his granddaughter had yet to be open about to him, it was her feelings. Particularly her love life.

He couldn't help but chuckle at the thought. Now this was quite interesting…

The Family 3rd Generation Boss of the Oedo clan raised his cup of sake to his lips and drank deeply. His granddaughter had always been a curious puzzle to him, and after sixteen years, he still couldn't quite figure her out. He smiled. It was too bad he couldn't resist the challenge to try.

And as he set his cup down and peeked at her from the corner of his eye, Kuroda vowed to watch her for the rest of the evening.

* * *

Her leg was falling asleep.

Kumiko sighed and shifted her position so she could stretch out her legs more. _My legs shouldn't be the only ones that are sleeping,_ she thought tiredly. _I should be in bed by now. _She yawned widely and glanced at the wall clock in the room. She was surprised to see that it was _really _late in the evening. That meant plenty of time had already passed since she first started doing her work.

She fingered the papers she was poring over and frowned. It was strange it took her this long. She was only checking test papers of the math exam she had given out yesterday. It shouldn't have taken much time; it was just basic math and didn't require much computation or mental skills. She should have finished this kind of work in half the time it was taking her to finish now.

She sighed. She propped her elbow on the table she was working on and leaned her chin on her hand. Unconsciously, she reached out for the cup of tea she had prepared earlier and brought it to her lips. Then, as she seemingly changed her mind, she carefully set it back down on the table without drinking from it. Her eyes roved over the amount of work that still needed to be finished, and she frowned. She should've been done by now… if only she didn't keep getting distracted.

_Ah. Now _there's _the root of the problem…_

No matter how hard she tried, her mind still disobeyed her commands and kept traveling back to earlier that day, in her classroom, when all her students have already left… except for one particular boy who, unluckily for her, has the most unpredictable moods ever, and who, despite the mysterious aura surrounding him, has the most beautiful eyes she'd ever seen…

_No. _She shook her head quickly. _Don't think about that, don't think about that, don't think about—_

…and the way he smiled… that kind of smile should be illegal…

_Hey! I thought I told you not to think about—_

…not to mention his lips that were _SO—_

"That's it!" she cried out. "This has got to stop!" She slammed her palms on the table in frustration.

The legs of the table shook and the cup of tea jumped at the impact. It landed with a noisy clatter and spilled its contents all over the table, including her hand. It didn't scald her skin; it had long gone cold, a testament of just how long she had been sitting here checking papers. Thankfully, by some strange stroke of sheer luck, the murky liquid managed to avoid landing on the papers she was checking.

She winced, remembering the way she had slammed her cup earlier on the counter when she arrived home. At this rate, she was going to accidentally destroy one or more of their kitchenware in her frustration.

She rearranged her papers to a safer, drier corner of the table before she stood up and took the now empty cup with her. She went to the kitchen and proceeded to wash the cup before she set it carefully in its place on the counter. She then broke off a few sheets from the roll of paper towel she found in one of the drawers.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she clutched the sheets in her hand. _Calm down, Kumiko. __It's nothing to get so worked up about, _she thought to herself._ A guy just kissed you. No big deal._ The hand that clutched the paper towel tightened into a fist, and the poor absorbent material became a new outlet for her anger. _And it doesn't really matter that it had been your first kiss…!_

Kumiko slammed her fist on the counter, and it made the dishes clatter once again like they did earlier that evening. She blinked. _I really have to stop doing that,_ she thought. _It's not good for the kitchenware_. She gingerly rubbed her fist with her other hand. _Or for my bones either._

She took a deep breath and strolled back to her working station, crumpled paper towel in hand. She fell to her knees and carefully wiped away all traces of liquid on the table. She returned to the kitchen to dispose the soggy material. Then she walked back into the room where she was working and prepared to settle back into her work.

"All right!" she said brightly as she flopped back down on her seat. She stretched her arms in front her, fingers entwined and palms facing outward, before she cocked her head from side to side and cracked her knuckles. "It's time to get concentrating! I'm going to finish this work in record time and wake up early tomorrow so I won't be late for class! I have to set a good example for my students!"

_Especially for that one student who seems to have a fondness for tardiness, _she thought. She shook her head. After what transpired today, she wondered if he was even going to show up for class in the first place.

She pulled the pile of papers towards her and grabbed a red pen. She took a sheet from the top of the pile and started to check the answers of that particular test paper. She paused every now and then to encircle a wrong answer and write her comments and corrections. Then, as she pursed her lips, she scrutinized the paper after she finished checking.

"Hmm…" She ran her finger down the paper to tally the score. "Thirty… thirty-nine," she mumbled as she wrote the numbers 3 and 9 on the upper-right corner of the paper and encircled it.

She frowned. "So that's a score of thirty-nine… over a hundred." Her eyes flickered over to the name written on the paper and saw that it belonged to a student from Section 3-D. She sighed. _Oh well, _she thought as she shrugged. For a class whose highest score before had been any number below ten, they were definitely improving.

She smiled a little at that. _At least I know they're listening to me half of the time._

She placed that particular sheet of paper into a separate pile of papers she had already finished checking. She then took another test paper and started to check that as well. As she tallied the score, she nodded to herself and wrote the numbers 3 and 6 on top of the paper. When the numbers registered in her mind, she froze.

_Thirty-six_…

She quickly shoved that particular paper away and took another sheet. She tried to focus her attention on checking it.

_A confident smirk. 'The answer is thirty-six.'_

She set her mouth in a thin line as her brows furrowed. No, she mustn't be distracted again…

_A nonchalant remark. 'I would never kiss you in front of the class.'_

She gripped the pen even harder, deep linear and circular dents now appearing on the paper as she checked.

_A breathtaking smile. 'I'm here… for my reward.'_

Her hand was shaking now.

_A cocky grin. 'Never… in front of the class…'_

A ripping sound resonated quite loudly in the stillness of the room, and it jolted her back to her senses. She froze and looked at the sheet of paper in her hand, and her eyes widened as she realized what she had done. She had been holding the pen with such force that it finally broke a long, linear hole through the thin sheet of paper when she checked one particular number while she was battling with her inner turmoil.

She grimaced as she fingered the paper gingerly and wondered what her student will say when she hands that test paper back to him. "I'm sorry," she said, feeling particularly foolish that she was talking to an inanimate object. The linear hole glared at her mockingly, silent.

She sighed as she put that particular paper away. "Concentrate, Kumiko," she berated herself. "You can do this! You _will_ finish this! Just a few more papers to go!" She held an arm horizontally in front of her with her palm facing downwards, like a coach hyping up his sports team. "That's right! Fight—!" she clamped her other hand to her mouth when she realized how loud her voice sounded. She didn't want to wake up the other people of the household — especially since they tend to be somewhat hysterical whenever they hear urgency in her voice.

Her voice dropped to a whisper, and she continued softly, "Fight-o… O!"

She proceeded with her task, forcing her mind to focus on the numerical figures as she checked the remaining papers one by one. Slowly, she felt herself relaxing and finally in the zone of doing her work as the pile of papers that needed to be checked started to get smaller and smaller. She found that as long as she steered clear of dangerous thoughts that would eventually lead to images of a furtive, brooding, and incredibly good-looking teenage boy, she was doing just fine.

Now she was down to the last two papers. She smiled in satisfaction and mentally patted herself on the back for a job well done. "You're almost done, Kumiko," she told herself. "Don't make any mistakes now…"

She took one of the papers and went over the answers. As she tallied the score, she paused in pleasant surprise. With a look of utter amazement on her face, she wrote the numbers 4 and 8 on the corner of the paper and encircled it.

_Forty-eight. _That was the highest score so far. She looked at the name written on the paper and was even more surprised to see that it belonged to Kuma. Astounded, she went over the questions again and found that she hadn't been mistaken and she had checked the paper correctly. That meant Kuma, the swaggering, big fat guy who was often teased as the class dunce of Section 3-D, had somehow done very well in mathematics by the power of some miraculous divine intervention.

_Either that, or he must have a very good, very diligent tutor,_ she thought as she placed Kuma's paper among the second pile of checked papers. She smiled. That meant he was finally starting to be more serious about his studies. _Good for him then. _

She then turned her attention to the last piece of paper in her hand, the only left for her to finish before she can wrap up and call it a night. She exhaled a sigh of relief. "Finally!" she exclaimed softly as she eagerly started to go over the answers of that paper.

And so, with her mind preoccupied in wonderment of Kuma's drastic progress in math, she failed to notice that the owner of that particular paper was in fact the same tutor she was curious about… especially since he also happened to be Kuma's best friend.

When she first started checking the answers of that particular test, her smile had widened in delight. So far, all of the answers had been correct. _Looks like Kuma isn't the only one improving, _she thought proudly. However, when she got to the middle part and she still didn't encounter a single wrong answer, her smile slowly disappeared and was replaced with a skeptical frown. This was highly unusual, and she was sure this guy cheated. By the time she was done checking and saw that the paper was filled with long, diagonal check marks and no sign of any circles anywhere, she had convinced herself she was hallucinating.

_A perfect score! I can't believe it!_

Numbly, she wrote "100" on the upper-right corner. She encircled it and underlined it twice as she stared at the digit in disbelief. Then, as realization suddenly struck her, her eyes widened. There was only one person whom she knew would be able reach that kind of awesome achievement. Her hands trembled as her fingers slowly traveled over the name written neatly on the paper – a name she had unintentionally ignored until now.

"_Sawada Shin__"_

Her mouth hung open. _No wonder it's a perfect score,_ she thought in awe. _I just checked the test of a genius!_

Though she knew calling him a genius was a bit of an exaggeration, even she had to admit that this guy was exceptionally and unbelievably smart. With a mind like his, in some ways he didn't belong at Shirokin Gakuen, let alone Section 3-D. He belonged at some private, prestigious school where he could hone his intelligence and skills to their full extent, and not at some knock-off, middle-class high school where he'd be around people who couldn't and wouldn't recognize his talents for what they truly are.

She slid her fingers across the paper as a small smile played on her lips. Then again, he _had _been at that kind of high-status school. And… he had not been happy.

Minami Youichi, Noda Takeshi, Uchiyama Haruhiko, and Kumai Teruo. She remembered the way he seems so carefree and at ease around this ragtag group of reckless, trouble-making playboys. With a reputation like his that he has to protect, hanging out with delinquent teens like them seems highly uncalled for. However, those things don't seem to matter to him. Perhaps it's because of the fact that he's highly respected and looked upon by them as their unsung leader. Being the most rational, levelheaded and quick-witted member of the group, he looks out for them like they were family, and they in turn stand by him no matter what.

Her eyes softened. True, these boys treat him as their leader. But more importantly… they treat him as a friend. And not only by the four of them, but by the whole Section 3-D as well. And that, perhaps, is something he never had before. Something that, despite everything, makes his stay at Shirokin Gakuen worthwhile.

Her gaze turned pensive. At first glance, he looks like the most uncaring, disinterested student in class, often coming in late and sleeping through the lessons most of the time. And yet, as she recalled the many times she saw him rush to help his friends whenever they're in dire need, she knew that his quiet, unassuming nature can turn emotive and compelling in an instant.

She remembered how he almost got thrown in jail after he recklessly barged in to rescue his runaway sister from a bunch of boorish boys in a casino. He had refused to defend himself, knowing that if he explained the full details of what happened his sister would most likely be in trouble as well. He can be quite cold and detached during certain times he deems fit to be so, but when it comes to the people he cares for, he could and would turn the world upside down just to protect them.

She pictured the intense look that comes to his eyes during those moments. A look that, just this afternoon, he had bestowed upon her quite candidly.

She shivered slightly. He's the kind of person who hides his emotions well, burying them in a pretense of aloofness. So it can be quite a shock when in moments that those people close to him are in danger, those emotions can be seen suddenly surfacing in his eyes with such undeniable fervor that can be riveting to watch… and can even be intimidating sometimes. It still catches her off-guard sometimes, but somehow, considering the numerous times they've been weaving in and out of trouble together, she's already used to it. At least… she _thought _she was.

However, the intensity in his gaze that time had been… different. His eyes had taken on a deeper hue that afternoon. It conveyed feelings she knew he kept well hidden, until the person he chose to reveal them to was worthy of seeing them. And with the way he looked at her that time, she knew it was meant for her to see… and for her alone. It was a look full of warmth that wrapped around her tenderly like a comforting blanket, yet at the same time, held an underlying fire that seemed to burn a hole right through her. She didn't know what that it meant, but the dark, blazing embers that were his eyes ignited something inside her that responded to his silent calling.

She had never seen him look that way before. Ever.

_So why did he look at me that way?_

Her cheeks burned once again as images of that time in the classroom played in her mind. She remembered how he had patiently and cleverly waited until everyone had left before he approached her, silently and stealthily like a cat, and she remembered how he had smiled at her in a way that could have probably melted even the coldest snowman on Christmas morning. She remembered how surprisingly gentle his fingers had felt when he urged her to look up at him and he caressed her face, as if it was a delicate flower, and she remembered how warm his eyes had been when he held her gaze as tenderly as one would hold a newborn baby. She remembered how he had leaned forward towards her slowly, cautiously, so unlike the aggressiveness he was prone to have, as if he had been giving her the time and decision to push him away if she needed to, and it had rooted her into place with the disbelief that this couldn't be the hot-tempered student she had come to know. And she remembered how he had impishly grinned at her, and how that that oh-so-familiar expression shocked her into the realization that he really _was _Sawada Shin.

She remembered all of these because in her shocked daze, she hadn't been able to close her eyes, and she had been able to watch the fascinating play of different emotions in his features. And somehow, it intrigued and – she loathed to admit – delighted her to know that it she had been the cause of all that.

And so she didn't close her eyes… even when he had bridged the distance between them and pressed his lips to hers.

She fingered her lips gingerly. _My first kiss…_

Never, in her whole life, did she imagine her first kiss to happen the way it did. Nor did she expect it to be as gentle and as enticing as it had seemed that afternoon. In the first place, she never expected _Shin Sawada _of all people to be the one privileged enough to give her that kind of first experience. Somehow, she had already reserved herself for the one person who had first made her seize up like a statue, flush as brightly as a tomato, her heart gallop at a thundering pace like there were a hundred horses racing in her chest, and reduce her to a blabbering idiot whenever she felt his presence. And that person was none other than Shinohara Tomoya.

She blinked, and her thoughts abruptly stopped at that one name. _Shinohara-san!_

The realization that it was only now she remembered him surprised her greatly. Before, when she wasn't racking her brains on how to get her students out of trouble, he was always first and foremost on her mind. And as she thought back on that incident with her student in the classroom, she suddenly felt a little guilty.

She bit her lip. She knew that there was no reason for her to feel that way. It wasn't as if she had initiated the kiss.

Then again… she hadn't pulled away either.

She pressed her lips together as she remembered how it had felt. His kiss had been gentle, almost hesitant, as if he had been afraid he might hurt her… as if he had been afraid she might pull away. And she _knew_ she should have pulled away. But then…

She closed her eyes and inevitably succumbed to reliving each moment.

She remembered how, from the moment he had smiled at her, everything about had changed dramatically. The dark aura that had always come with his presence seemed to lift, like a curtain unveiling a preciously hidden secret to an awestruck audience. Even when he had stolen that kiss from her, she hadn't closed her eyes, for she had been enthralled by the way he had shown her that side of him with shameless abandon. Because even for a single, fleeting moment, Shin Sawada had dropped all his masks and pretenses and stood there before her just as he is: a boy, simple and true, who had not been afraid to show her how he had felt at that moment.

He had been… happy.

She knew it would break her heart if she had ruined that one fleeting moment of happiness for him, a young boy – no, a young _man – _who had already suffered enough burdens in his life to carry upon his youthful shoulders. Because despite what anyone says otherwise about him, despite how he acts all tough and callous on the outside, despite how he tries to remain strong for his friends, his sister, and even himself, for that matter… he is still a boy. A simple human being who, once in a while, breaks down with all the burdens of the world weighing heavily upon him. A boy who, once in a while, deserves to be happy too.

So that was how she had found herself giving in to the feel of his lips that had felt so sweet and inviting.

Her blush deepened and her cheeks felt even warmer, more because of embarrassment than anything else. _And you call yourself a teacher,_ she scolded herself. _Shame on you._

She sighed. She knew she should have pulled away when she had the chance.

_So why didn't you?_ A voice in the back of her mind slyly spoke up.

She frowned. It wasn't as if she could. It was over as soon as it had happened. She didn't had the chance to react.

_Yes you did,_ said the voice insistently. _He gave you the chance to do so. Why didn't you?_

_Because I couldn't,_ she answered herself, and she felt a little weird as she listened to two voices arguing in her head. She knew she can be a bit crazy sometimes, but she sure hoped she wasn't going psychotic now.

_Why couldn't you? _That irritating voice was really persistent.

She slapped Shin's paper down on the table. "Because I just couldn't, okay?!" she finally yelled.

"Couldn't what, my dear Kumiko?"

She nearly jumped at the deep-timbre voice that suddenly spoke out of the darkness in the room across her. A silhouette moved in the shadows, and she strained her eyes to see who it was. _Please don't tell me it's Sawada, _she thought suddenly, even though she knew how utterly ridiculous the idea sounded even inside her head. Shin lived blocks away from here; what would he be doing here at this time of the night?

_Like what he was doing in your classroom after all the students have already left?_ The voice in her head snidely remarked.

_Shut up,_ she told the voice brusquely. Thankfully, it did.

The calm, composed figure of her grandfather stepped into the room, and he was carrying a steaming cup of tea. She stared at him, appalled that she didn't hear him approaching. She should have been able to feel his familiar ki even from a distance. It meant that it was the second time today that someone had been able to come up to her without her even sensing that person's presence.

She frowned. She really should start training again; the mediocrity of the monotonous life as a teacher was starting to dull her senses.

She watched her grandfather in mild surprise as he seated himself across from her. "It's just you, Ojii-san," she said as she let out a relieved sigh. "You shouldn't scare me like that."

Kuroda arched an eyebrow. "Why? Were you expecting someone else?"

Sawada's grinning image flashed in her mind for a brief moment. She forced a smile. "No… not really, Ojii-san." She moved her papers to make room on the table, and her grandfather set his cup down.

"You're up late tonight, Kumiko," he stated gently.

"Oh, you know…" She gestured casually to the mess of papers around her table. "Work."

He nodded distractedly as his eyes roved over the papers briefly. "More load than usual?"

"A… a bit, yes," she answered uncertainly. _Although the load is on my mind, not on my work._

He stared at her intently for a moment, and she shifted uncomfortably. Her grandfather had an uncanny way of reading her mind, and after sixteen years, she doubted that natural instinct of his would fail him now.

He startled her when he suddenly said, "That's not the only thing keeping you up, is it, Kumiko?"

She was right.

"W-What do you mean?" she stammered as she dropped her gaze. She hoped he didn't hear the catch in her voice.

He smiled at her comfortingly. "Something's troubling you, Kumiko. What is it?"

It was her turn to raise an eyebrow curiously. She knew he was challenging her ever so subtly, for he also has this innate talent to draw out from her even the most secret skeletons she keeps hidden in her closet. _I think it's part of the territory of being my grandfather. Always poking in my business no matter what,_ she thought wryly. "What makes you say that?"

"Because you have been staring at that particular piece of paper for more than ten minutes now." He pointed at the paper in front of her.

She blinked at him for a moment before she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Ojii-san… how long have you been watching me?"

His eyes glinted mischievously. "Long enough for me to know that you're hiding something from me," he answered knowingly. "And that it has something to do with that paper in front of you."

Aghast, she stared at him. She knew that her grandfather wouldn't stop until she tells him the truth, and she knew that he would do that by toying rather discreetly with her conscience. If there was one thing she was sure she inherited from him, it was definitely his determination.

She sighed. So what was she supposed to say now? Was she supposed to just simply tell him, _"Oh you know, grandpa, this paper is just a math test of a particularly smart and utterly unpredictable student of mine from Section 3-D, the same student who just kissed me this afternoon, and I happened to like the feeling that's why I can't get him out of my mind now and oh by the way he just happened to claim the reward I carelessly promised him"_?

She snorted. Like hell she'd tell him. She would never hear the end of it.

"I'm just amazed to have someone in Section 3-D garner a perfect score on a math exam, Ojii-san," was what she said. She picked up the paper and pointed at the number 100 scribbled at the corner of the paper, which stood out in bright red ink.

"Oh?" Kuroda inquired, thoroughly curious now. "And who would that ingenious student be?" He leaned over the table and tried to get a glimpse of the paper she was holding.

Kumiko quickly turned Shin's test facedown atop the pile of papers she finished checking. "It's getting late, Ojii-san," she said as she hurriedly collected her things on the table and gathered them all in her arms. "I'm done with my work anyway, so I think I'll go to sleep now. I have a class first thing tomorrow morning, and I don't want to be late!"

As she clumsily tried to balance the heap of papers in her arms, she moved to stand up. In her haste, her knee accidentally bumped the table, and it made her grandfather's cup of tea jump over the edge. She gasped in surprise and expected it to crash on the floor, but her grandfather caught it deftly in both his palms. Not a single drop of tea was spilled.

Kumiko stared at him in amazement. "How did you _do _that?" she asked in awe as she thought back to the mess she had made earlier.

Calmly, the yakuza boss brought the cup to his lips and took a sip. "I've been part of the yakuza for more than six decades, and Kumichou of the Oedo clan for more than four." He peered at her from beneath his lashes and smiled. "What do you think, my dear granddaughter?"

Laughing, Kumiko said, "I think you're going to last longer than any of us, Ojii-san." She bowed to him and smiled. "Good night."

"Good night," he replied, bowing his head in return. "Sleep well."

Kumiko grinned at him widely and waved before she stepped out of the room, supplies and papers in hand.

He waited until he heard the slide of a shoji opening and closing; a signal that meant Kumiko had already retired to her room. Slowly, Kuroda lowered his cup of tea on the table and watched the wisps of steam curl upwards into the air. He listened to the deafening silence of the room as he mulled over the name he had managed to read on the paper before his granddaughter had snatched it away.

"Sawada Shin… huh…"

* * *

And for the second time that evening, just as he was pulling the sheets over his head in preparation for sleep, Shin sneezed again.

"I really have to start cleaning more often," he muttered.

* * *

_End of chapter two_

* * *

**A/N:** I know this chapter is pretty slow-paced and talks mostly about Kumiko's thoughts, but there's a reason why I wrote it this way. Being a girl myself, I totally understand how the female species can be quite reflective about life in general, more so than your average guy… sometimes even too much for our own damn good. With what happened in the first chapter, it's impossible that Kumiko wouldn't ponder about that "surprising incident" with Shin. ;) I just try to stick with the reality of things. Besides, I also try to maintain a balance with the way I write; there will be descriptive chapters, fast-paced ones, reflective ones, humorous ones, and romantic ones of course. I try my best not to have an excess of one element over the others, and keep them relatively equal.

Anyway, enough meaningless blabber. On to the next chapter!

- shirotora-san

* * *

Japanese Glossary:

**Ki** – aura, chi, life energy.

**Kumichou **– head of a yakuza gang; position currently held by Kuroda Ryuuichirou, Kumiko's grandfather

**Ojii – **Grandfather

**Shoji **– sliding door of traditional Japanese homes made of wood and rice paper

Japanese Honorifics:

**-san** - suffix added to a name to connote mild formality. It can mean either "Mister" or "Miss," depending on the gender. It is usually used with acquaintances or with people of higher rank than the one speaking.


	3. Morning Encounters

**A/N: ****An important note:** I'm not entirely sure of the design of Shirokin Gakuen's building. The way the classrooms are situated are based on my own assumptions.

That been said, on to the fic!

"**REWARD"**

A Gokusen Fanfiction

by shirotora-san

* * *

CHAPTER THREE

_**Morning Encounters**_

Kumiko dragged her feet along the tiled walkway of Shirokin High. Her weary fingers were holding her shoulder bag by the strap and were nearly dragging it on the ground too. She placed a hand in front of her face as she squinted at the golden rays of sunlight that were streaming beautifully through the crisp, green leaves of the trees, and she silently cursed the way the sun suddenly seemed too bright today. Her shoulders slumped and she let her arm drop to her side carelessly. She ignored the way students bumped into her as they ran past. Had it been any other day than today, she would have run to catch up with them to greet them good morning and remind them not to be late for class. Or, if she loses grip of her control and the yakuza side of her takes over, she would have asked them for their names and demand that they apologize to her right then and there, and might have even driven them down to their knees if the need arises. Today, however, she was just too damn tired to care.

As she neared the school's main door, she stopped and heaved a huge sigh. For the umpteenth time that morning, she wondered why she had even bothered to crawl out of bed. She hadn't been able to sleep a wink last night. Every time she buried her head in her pillow, her mouth pressed against its softness, it reminded her of the feel of _his _lips. When she turned over on her back, eyes wide in the darkness of her room, she remembered the dark, intense look in his eyes that sent shivers down her spine. And when she pulled her sheets over her to cover her entire body, it only made her wonder how it might feel like wrapped in his arms.

_I'm going to end up looking like a raccoon, _she thought as she fingered the bags underneath her eyes. She felt like several weights had been strapped to them and were being pulled down by the earth's gravity. _If I don't resolve this soon, I'm going to morph into a sleepwalking zombie._ She yawned widely.

"Whoa. What in the world happened? You look like something the cat dragged in."

Her eyes widened in surprise and she clamped her mouth close at the sound of that familiar feminine voice. Standing in front of her was school nurse Kawashima Kikuno, who looked cool and spunky in the leopard-print blouse and brown slacks she wore underneath her nurse coat. She grinned and waved at the bleary-eyed math teacher.

"I beg your pardon?" said Kumiko, while she mentally noted that she hadn't sensed the nurse coming up to her. _That's the third person in a row now. It's the lack of training,_ she thought as she frowned. _Or the lack of sleep._

Kikuno laughed gaily, and the merry sound evoked a smile on Kumiko's lips. It never failed to amaze her how the nurse can act so cheerful each day as if she hasn't a care in the world, even though she knew the nurse carries heavy burdens of her own. Kumiko found a friend, a supporter and a counselor in her, and in some ways, Kumiko wanted to be just like her.

Kikuno looped an arm around Kumiko as they walked together towards the school's main building. "You've had better-looking days, Yamaguchi-sensei," she said cheerily. "It looks like you haven't had much sleep last night."

_More like none at all,_ Kumiko thought grimly. "Do I really look _that_ bad today?"

Kikuno raised an eyebrow. "Literally, or as a whole?"

"Both."

The nurse smiled at her. "As a whole, you're cute, Kumiko-chan. You really are much prettier than you give yourself credit for."

"Really?" said Kumiko brightly as she perked up. "Why thank you, Kawashima-sensei!"

"Literally though…" the nurse trailed off and gave her the once-over. "You look like death warmed over."

Kumiko groaned. "Gee. Thanks for the compliment." Kikuno laughed again.

"Maybe it's because she was up all night doing something unusual," another feminine voice piped up.

Both nurse and math teacher turned as they wondered where that foxy voice came from, and they saw that it belonged to none other than Fujiyama Shizuka. The flirty, sexy English teacher and Section 3-C adviser was donned in a slightly revealing skirted suit. It was pink, naturally, her favorite color, and the playful shade only brought out the naughty, girlish charm in the young woman. The male students that were passing by gawked at the long, creamy legs revealed by her skirt that fell daringly high above her knees.

"Unusual?" Kikuno inquired as the teenage boys literally tripped over one another when Shizuka walked by them. "Like what, Fujiyama-sensei?"

Shizuka batted her lashes at the love struck boys flirtatiously before she turned to her female companions. "Oh you know, woman stuff," she said casually.

Kikuno nodded in understanding.

Lost, Kumiko blinked. "Woman stuff?" she repeated. _I need to get in touch with my feminine side more often, _she thought. _Especially since, the last time I checked, I _am _a woman after all._

Shizuka sighed exasperatedly. "Woman stuff. You know, bar hopping, hanging out with rich men, flirting and dating…" she trailed off, and her eyes suddenly brightened. "And having an affair!" She turned to Kumiko, whose eyes had widened into saucers. "_That_ must be why you didn't get any sleep last night!"

"What?!" Kumiko burst out, aghast at the very idea.

Kikuno clapped her hands together. "I'm so happy for you, Yamaguchi-sensei! Finally there's spice to your love life!"

Kumiko stared openmouthed at them both. _Where do these women get their ideas? _"Wait, I'm not having a—"

"I wonder who the lucky guy is," Shizuka mused.

"Lucky?" Kikuno repeated. "Surely Yamaguchi-sensei can't be serious about him only after a one-night stand?"

"What are you guys talking about?" Kumiko exclaimed. "I'm _not—_"

"True," said Shizuka, frowning. "I don't think any guy in his right mind would fall for Yamaguchi-sensei that easily, especially after that."

Kawashima-sensei nodded. "That's right. She still doesn't have the right skills."

Kumiko bristled. _Was I just insulted here?_ "Now wait just a minute—"

"I wonder what kind of guy she managed to snag. Yamaguchi-sensei has really unconventional taste," said Kikuno thoughtfully. "A fellow teacher? A coworker perhaps? A professional, like a lawyer or a doctor?"

"A bartender? Or the bouncer?" Shizuka added. "Or a cook… maybe a street vendor! That type of guy is the easiest to con and bribe into going to bed with you. Just tell him it's in exchange for a few rice cakes, and poof! One nabbed guy for a night."

_This is just ridiculous, _Kumiko huffed. _Now they're talking as if I'm not standing right here! _"Oh for crying out loud, you two, just—"

"Wait." Shizuka stopped suddenly in her tracks.

"Could it be?" Kikuno halted her steps, as she seemed to have arrived at the same conclusion as the English teacher.

Their hands flew to their mouth. "No way!" they both exclaimed.

_I swear, I can never and will never understand women! _"_Now_ what?" Kumiko demanded from behind them, her hands on her hips.

Both women abruptly swiveled around to face her, the expressions on their faces twin looks of equal parts disbelief and amazement.

"A student!" they said in unison.

Kumiko blinked at them. "What?"

"I can't believe you!" Kikuno exclaimed. "After what you said about teacher-student relationships before!"

Kumiko blanched as she finally realized the implications of what they were talking about. _Now isn't this just a wee bit coincidental._ "You two _can't _be serious, I—"

"Though I have to admit, it's an exciting prospect," Shizuka cut her off. Her expression turned dreamy. "Forbidden love… ah… so romantic…"

"_How the hell can it be romantic?!_"

Both women leaned back and blinked in surprise at the force of the math teacher's outburst.

…_Oops. _Kumiko had thrown her arms in the air and exclaimed that last bit much louder than she had intended to. _Kumiko the Ojou is appearing more often lately. _She slowly lowered her arms to her sides and took a deep breath. _Tamper it down. Right. Check._

"I mean, you said it yourself, Fujiyama-sensei," she said as she forced her voice to calm down and she smiled at the puzzled women in reassurance. She hoped she didn't scare them off. "It's 'forbidden love.' It's not accepted in the moral norms of the society," she continued saying as she clenched her fist in front of her. "And as reputable and well-respected teachers, we shouldn't do anything to further encourage the idea!"

The two women looked at each other. It was Kikuno who spoke first.

"Nope. No way. She couldn't have. Not with a student."

Shizuka nodded. "You're right. She's too much of a goody-goody to take the risk."

And with that, they turned and started to walk away from the dumbstruck Section 3-D adviser.

Kumiko blinked. Now that had been too easy. '_Goody-goody', huh…_ she thought wryly. _How ironic. If only they knew what kind of family I belong to._

She ran to catch up with them, just in time to hear Shizuka say to Kikuno, "But you know, there's really nothing wrong with a teacher-student relationship, right?"

_Really? _Kumiko thought as she fell in step with their stride. "There isn't?"

"Perhaps there is, if we lived in the ancient times. Before, that kind of relationship is practically taboo," said Kikuno. "But now times are changing. I know several couples who had once been teacher and student."

Kumiko looked at the nurse interestingly. "How did they manage to work that out?"

Kikuno smiled. "They got together after one of them graduated. Technically, once the student graduates he or she isn't the teacher's responsibility anymore. After that, they're free to do anything they wish."

Kumiko thought it over. "But wouldn't that kind of relationship still be frowned upon? At least in the society's eyes?" she asked. "After all, once in their life they _had _been teacher and student."

"It would depend on the people themselves," Shizuka answered. "There are some teacher-student couples who are willing to look over the boundaries professionalism sets for the sake of their relationship. They wouldn't care what other people think of them, only what they think of each other. They'll fight for their love." She smiled. "Besides, the people themselves are changing. Some couples' families and friends actually learn to become supportive of that kind of newly-explored relationship."

"Why are you so curious, anyway?" Kikuno suddenly said as she turned to face Kumiko. "Don't tell me you really _had _an affair with a student?"

Looking thoroughly intrigued, Shizuka also stopped to look at the startled math teacher.

Kumiko stared at both of them and plastered a grin across her face. "What are you talking about?" She pointed to herself. "I'm the goody-goody, remember?"

Shizuka and Kikuno looked at each other, eyebrows raised.

The first bell rang at that moment. It warned the people inside the school compound that classes will begin in about half an hour. And as students and faculty members alike hurried up the stairs leading to the building's main door, the two women shrugged and went with the flow of people rushing in the building, and they thought to themselves that sometimes, Yamaguchi-sensei can be really, really weird.

Kumiko was left standing alone at the foot of the stairs. She felt slightly ill at ease. The conversation that had just taken place got on her already overwrought nerves, and she wondered how much more of these she could take. _And I thought yesterday had already been confusing enough._

Shaking her head, she slung her bag on her shoulder and proceeded to walk up the stairs. She pushed the entrance door open and entered the building. She was able to walk a few steps inside before she stopped in her tracks when she came across a pair of meticulously polished black leather shoes. She slowly raised her head, and she blinked when her gaze fell upon the sneering face of Vice-Principal Goro Sawatari.

Briefly she wondered how his wife could stand to wake up to that kind of face every morning. She cringed. _What a nightmare. _

Sawatari raised an eyebrow at her, and she pasted a fake smile on her face that fooled no one. "Good morning, Kyoto!" she exclaimed with forced cheerfulness.

Sawatari tried to smile back, which was a tremendous effort for him, and he ended up curling his lips in a grimace; a look that could probably send most of Kumiko's yakuza men running for the hills, thinking that they had encountered the devil himself.

"Yamaguchi-sensei," Sawatari started to say as he clasped his hands behind his back. "I suppose you've heard the bell ring just a short while ago?"

"Of course I did, Kyoto," she said as she nodded emphatically. She grinned and pointed at her ears. "I clean my ears regularly every morning. I can assure you they're free of gunk and wax. Wanna see?" she leaned upwards with her head cocked slightly to the side, her ear directed towards Sawatari's face.

Startled, he stepped back and held his hands up in front of him. "Ugh, no, I _don't _want to see the inside of your ears, Yamaguchi-sensei," he retorted disgustedly. "Frankly, I don't care what you do with them, as long as you keep your bodily mucus to yourself."

He cleared his throat and straightened his tie. He peered down from above his glasses at the quirky math teacher, unable to believe he was having this kind of conversation with her. "Anyway, Yamaguchi-sensei, my point is," he said as he started to walk around her. "Shouldn't you be in class by now? You know, teaching your…" he paused and turned to her sharply, a mocking grin plastered across his ugly countenance. "Intellectually-challenged, delinquently behaving and antisocial students of Section 3-D."

She gritted her teeth at the barely concealed insult to her class. "It was just the first bell, Kyoto. I have about thirty minutes more before classes officially begin." _And you have about thirty seconds more before I knock the living daylights out of you for saying those things about my students._

She bared her teeth in a strained smile. _Control, Kumiko… control. _"By the way, shouldn't you be in your office by this time as well? You know, doing… I dunno… official school stuff?" she said. "Kyoto… sir?" she added as an afterthought.

He seemed to be taken aback for a moment. "Well, that's uh, 'cause you see…" he cleared his throat once more. "My business is none of your concern, Yamaguchi-sensei." Catch him telling the math teacher that he just came in as well, quite late for his office hours… nope, that wouldn't do. "Besides, I was just, uh… doing my usual round of the building, to make sure that the people of this school are aware that classes would be starting in a short while. And that goes the same for both students and teachers." He peered down at her. "Which reminds me, shouldn't you be on your way to class right now?"

She grinned at him. "I was, until you stood in my way, Kyoto," she said cheerily.

He bristled visibly. "Well then, don't let me stop you, Yamaguchi-sensei. Off you go," he said as he made a shooing gesture with his hands, as if Kumiko was some unwanted fly hovering above his food.

Still grinning, Kumiko waved at him and turned to go when Sawatari spoke up again behind her.

"Remember Yamaguchi-sensei, I'm keeping an eye on you. You and Section 3-D. When I catch wind that your students are up to no good, I will personally make sure that they won't be able to step foot inside this school ever again."

Had Shin been there, he would have recognized that flash in her eyes. Slowly, she turned around to face the vice-principal. She bowed her head. "I'll remember that, sir."

Smirking, the vice-principal turned and finally left.

She waited until his echoing footsteps in the hall receded before she straightened and let out the breath she had been holding. It was a trick she learned from her grandfather to help her stay calm whenever she gets dangerously close to losing her temper. She blinked as she stared at her hands, and she noticed that they formed a circle that would fit perfectly around the greasy-haired vice-principal's neck.

She sighed. She dropped her arms to her sides and the strap of her bag slipped from her shoulder. The events that had happened since yesterday afternoon coupled with the lack of sleep was really setting her on the edge, and she wasn't sure how long it would take before she finally snaps. She suddenly pictured herself becoming all yakuza-like on her class, with her brandishing a katana and whipping it around the classroom, her tough-looking students of Section 3-D fleeing for their lives and Shin muttering in the background, _'Yankumi no baka.'_

She shook her head. _Now that's a sight I'd really rather not see happening in reality._

She slung her bag once more on her shoulder and tightened her grip on the papers she was holding. Glasses glinting, she held an arm out with her palm facing downward. "All right, Kumiko," she said. "You've made it this far without anyone ever finding out about your secret." _Sawada doesn't count_, she mentally added. "And you are going to do whatever you can to keep it that way, because you are going to pursue your dream of becoming the best teacher in Japan!" She narrowed her eyes in determination. "Fight-o… O!"

She took a deep breath and set her mouth in a thin line before she marched over to the middle of the main hall. She stopped and stared at the long stairway that would lead up the floor to her room where, once again, she would be facing her delinquent class of Section 3-D, just as she had done everyday for the past few months. The only difference was, this time, she knew without a doubt that she could never look towards the back row the same way ever again… not without her cheeks flushing heatedly at the sight of the deep dark eyes she would be seeing there.

She flashed back to her conversation earlier with the two women. _A teacher-student affair?_ Kumiko thought as she started her trek up the stairway. _I sure hope not._

* * *

Hidden from his vantage point in the garden near the main hall, Shirakawa Genzou peeked from behind the long green leaves of the plants he was tending to watch her amusingly. Ever since she came to this school, life at Shirokin Gakuen became more interesting. Perhaps it was her quirky, assertive nature, or maybe even her naiveté and incessant cheerfulness that made her so different from all the other teachers he had met. He knew, though, that it was most likely because of the fact that the school had unknowingly hired the sole heiress of the Oedo clan for a math teacher and assigned her as adviser of the most feared class in Shirokin High: Section 3-D.

The old man smiled. Most teachers would rather eat their hat than set foot on that classroom. When she first arrived, it had been commonplace for faculty members in the office to hand out bets on how long she'd last before she'd be begging for her resignation. Most had reckoned she wouldn't even last the day. A week passed, then two, then a month, three months, six… and now that they were nearing the end of the year, she still wasn't showing any sign of backing off from her duty any day. It seemed that with each passing day, she becomes more and more determined to fulfill her responsibility as a teacher and adviser of that unruly section, proving that she's much, _much _tougher than she looks. Perhaps that was also the reason why she was slowly starting to earn the respect most had thought she'd never gain from her wayward students. In fact, in a weird, twisted sort of way… Section 3-D was starting to like her.

He knew, without a doubt, that Yamaguchi Kumiko was here to stay.

The petite, pigtailed, and bespectacled young woman can now be heard hyping herself up, and he listened as she reminded herself to keep her secret more carefully – a secret he was willing to help keep – and she cheered herself on becoming, in her own words, 'the best teacher in Japan'.

"Someday, Kumiko…" the Shirokin Gakuen Principal softly said as he watched her climb the stairs to her class. "I have no doubt that you will."

* * *

Huffing and puffing, Kumiko used the handrail to pull herself up the remaining steps of the stairs and onto the last floor of the building. It never used to bother her before, but now she started to wonder why the school just had to assign her to a class situated on the top floor of the school's main building – and at the end of the hallway too. She cursed loudly when she saw the long walk ahead of her, and fortunately for her, since everyone was busy inside their own classrooms preparing for the start of classes, no one heard her.

Normally, climbing several sets of stairs wouldn't wear her down, especially considering the fact that she _is_ the Ojou of the Oedo clan after all. Now though, she was panting softly with the effort, quite unusual for someone who had undergone several years of brutal martial arts training in her home dojo. But then again, lack of sleep could do that to a person.

Perhaps that was also the reason why as she dragged her feet along the white, polished floor of the hallway and tried to ignore her throbbing head, she failed to notice that the corridor wasn't as empty as she thought, and that a tall, masculine figure was standing right in the middle of the hall and watching her with interest.

The formally donned, handsome young man bowed as she passed him by. "Good morning, Yamaguchi-sensei."

"Morning," she mumbled automatically. He stared at her in amusement as she continued on her way without even looking at him.

Kumiko suddenly stopped in her tracks. Something about that distinctly familiar voice made her heart speed up instantly. Her foggy mind slowly registered the formal attire, neat brown hair and stomach-churning good looks. She gasped and nearly dropped the papers in her arms as she swung around to face him, her eyes and mouth wide open in complete surprise.

"Shi-Shinohara-san!?"

Tomoya smiled warmly at her, and she could feel her insides melting with the boyish charm he unknowingly and effortlessly exuded. "For a moment there, I was afraid I had done something wrong for you to ignore me like that," he said.

"I-I'm so sorry, Shinohara-san!" Kumiko stammered as she bowed deeply. "I… I didn't see you there!"

"Oh?" said the police officer as he cocked a small grin. "I guess I'm the type of person who just simply blends in with the crowd, huh? Which is strange, since it's just the two of us here in the hallway." He looked down at her flustered visage as she straightened in surprise, and he raised an eyebrow at her amusingly. "Maybe I just blend in with the walls too."

"No!" she burst out and wrung her hands frantically. "I-It's not that! I've always had a problem with my eyesight you see… I think it's these glasses, I knew I should have replaced them when—"

She stopped in mid-sentence and blinked when he laughed softly. "I was only kidding, Yamaguchi-sensei," he said as his eyes twinkled in mirth. "The glasses suit you just fine. Besides, the walls of this school look good, so I wouldn't mind blending in with them."

Kumiko blushed at the way he was lightly teasing her. _If I didn't know any better, I think he's actually… flirting. _She stared at his smooth, gentle features as he smiled at her kindly. Her spirits suddenly lifted considerably. _Do I dare to hope…?_

She cleared her throat abruptly, dispelling the thought before it grows. "So… uh… what brings you at Shirokin High this early in the morning? Has there been any trouble at the station?" She gasped as a thought occurred to her. "Is it my students?" she asked abruptly.

Tomoya quickly raised his hands at the alarm in her voice. "No, no, your students are behaving just fine, Yamaguchi-sensei," he assured her, and it made her sigh in relief. "I just came by because Fujiyama-sensei and Kawashima-sensei asked me to drop by this morning when we met yesterday. They want to talk about the, uh…" he paused as he blushed slightly. "The double date we set for this afternoon with Kashiwagi-san." He scratched the back of his head. "Or to be more precise, the double date _they_ set."

She blinked at him. "Oh," was all she could say. Once again, the two women had slyly and intentionally left her out of their plans to snag the fine-looking policeman for themselves. She sighed. The three-woman competition for Tomoya's affection was going on for some time now, and at this rate, she would most likely lose before she had barely started fighting.

She frowned. Something at the back of her mind was niggling at her, and it took a while before it came to her. "Shinohara-san?"

The young policeman looked at her inquiringly. "Yes? What is it, Yamaguchi-sensei?"

"Kawashima-sensei's clinic is on the first floor, and I just saw Fujiyama-sensei downstairs on her way to the restroom." She cocked her head slightly to the side. "So what are you doing all the way here on the top floor?"

To her surprise, Tomoya dropped his gaze. He was shifting his feet and looking uncomfortable for some reason. Kumiko watched him curiously as he seemed to be working out what to say. Then, as he apparently came into terms with himself, Tomoya took a deep breath, raised his head and looked at Kumiko straight in the eye.

"I'm here… because I wanted to see you."

She stared back at him, certain she didn't hear that correctly. "What?"

He averted his gaze bashfully, and she couldn't help but notice it made him look quite adorable. "I… uh… came up here to see if you're already in your class," he explained as his blush deepened. "I just came from Section 3-D, actually. I peeked inside and saw you weren't in yet. I was on my way back when I came across you." He gazed at her softly. "And I'm glad I did."

Kumiko thought back to the breakfast she ate that morning and wondered if there was something weird in the food that was making her hallucinate this way. "H-How did you know where my room is?"

"I dropped by the faculty office and asked around." He smiled at her.

Stunned beyond reason, she uttered the only intelligible word she could make out. "Why?"

To her surprise, instead of answering at once, the policeman stepped closer to her; closer than she ever thought he'd dare. Her heart started beating rapidly. Dimly, she registered someone coming up the stairs from behind him, but she didn't take notice. Her concentration was focused fully on how this attractive young man was suddenly imparting his whole attention on her; something she had been trying — and failing — to get him to do for the past few months now.

_This is just so unreal,_ she thought vaguely. _I hope I won't wake up and find out this is all just a dream, which I think I'm inclined to believe right now._

His smile faded into a look so deep and pensive as he held her gaze in his. Her eyes widened, and a wave of déjà vu washed over her. That look in his eyes… it was remarkably similar to a look someone _else_ had bestowed upon her just yesterday in her classroom.

"I told you…" said Tomoya softly. "It's because I wanted to see you."

Her breath caught. This was the moment she had been waiting for, something she thought she could only dream of! But now that it was happening in the real world, she was at a loss on what to do or say. However, before her mind could even work itself out on the fact that _this _was actually occurring in reality, her gaze was diverted when a figure appeared at the top of the stairs. The person raised his head — and her heart jumped in her throat when the unruly bangs revealed those deep dark eyes she knew so well.

_Sawada._

Intrigued at the sudden glazed look that came to her eyes, Tomoya turned around to see what caught her attention.

Shin blinked in surprise when he saw her. He thought she'd be in class by now. He had deliberately stalled so he could come to class late, for he wasn't sure how he'd face her today. When the person she was with turned around and he saw who it was, he scowled. The man recognized him as well and smiled at him in a way that grated on his nerves, and he stuffed his hands in his pockets as he slowly made his way towards them.

_What the hell is HE_ _doing here?_ Shin thought with venom. He had nothing against the man; he knew by experience with his stint at the station that he was an overall nice guy. The problem was that the man was a darn bit _too _nice for his taste. He couldn't understand why the female faculty members of this school fall all over themselves just to please the guy… especially _her. _He noticed how near that man stood beside her, and the hands in his pockets tightened into fists.

"Sawada-kun," said Tomoya cordially as Shin reached them. He bowed at the younger man. "Good morning."

His gaze flickered briefly to the policeman and he frowned at the affable way the older man greeted him. The honorific used by the officer to address him only served to remind him that he really was that much younger than Tomoya… and Kumiko too, for that matter, since she was closer in age with her beloved 'Shinohara-san' than with him.

Shin glanced at Kumiko then, who seemed to be frozen into place. Up close, he saw that she and the older man were standing _really_ close to each other… closer than he first thought and closer than he would have liked. He wondered what kind of conversation they were having before he came. He glanced once more at the policeman from the corner of his eye, and he promptly ignored him.

"Oi," he said brusquely to shock-stilled woman. He refused to look at her and carefully directed his gaze in front of him. "You still have a class to teach. Don't be late."

And with that, he walked away from them and left the policeman blinking in confusion in his departure.

Kumiko's mouth dropped open in surprise as she turned and watched Shin walk off without even acknowledging the older man's greeting. For some unexplainable reason, the young student's cavalier manner infuriated her immensely, and she gritted her teeth to keep herself from lashing out.

"Sawada."

The sharpness of her tone made him stop in his tracks. "What?" he responded curtly. He didn't even bother to turn around.

Her eyes narrowed. "Shinohara-san just greeted you good morning. Is that how you return the courtesy?"

He stood there silent and unmoving for a moment, and he could almost feel her incensed stare boring a hole through his back.

"Yamaguchi-sensei…" Tomoya started uneasily.

The teacher paid him no heed. "_Sawada…_" her voice held a low warning now.

Slowly, Shin turned around and faced them. His gaze traveled from a livid Kumiko to a slightly bewildered Tomoya. He withdrew a hand from his pocket and, with the tip of his fingers placed at the end of his eyebrow, he saluted at the policeman mockingly.

Tomoya's eyes widened at the enraged look that came upon her features when her student walked away from them, and he lightly grabbed her arm to prevent her from going after him. "Kumiko."

Both were unaware on how the young student stopped and stiffened at the casual, familiar way the older man mentioned her name. _I never even get to call her that._

"It's okay," Tomoya told her gently. "Let him go."

Kumiko's eyes traveled from his face to his hand on her arm and back again, surprise evident in her features. "Shinohara…"

Shin clenched his jaw. It also didn't escape his notice how she left out the honorific from the older man's name. He didn't like the way she said it too, all awed and dreamy. He didn't like it _at all._

Tomoya seemed to be studying her intently, and Kumiko flushed at the intensity of his gaze. "W-What is it?"

She gasped softly when he raised his other hand to tenderly tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "You don't look too good," he murmured almost inaudibly. "Have you been sleeping well?"

_What is it with people interested in my sleeping habits lately? _Kumiko thought vaguely, distracted by his touch. "I… I haven't had much sleep last night, I'm afraid…"

Tomoya smiled at her softly. "Then you should rest more often," he told her as he bent slightly toward her to examine her fatigued features. "So your beauty would last longer."

They were talking softly now, and unable to help himself, Shin turned around to see what was happening. His eyes widened when he saw Tomoya leaning closer and closer to her, and his fists found their way out of his pockets on their own accord. He didn't seem to notice how they were trembling uncontrollably for he was too busy swallowing the sudden possessive urge that surged through his veins at the infuriating sight.

_Get away from her._

"Shinohara-san!"

All three turned at the chirpy feminine voice that chimed in unexpectedly, and they all saw Fujiyama-sensei running up the stairs excitedly towards them. "You're here!" she exclaimed in delight at the policeman.

Kumiko pulled her arm away from Tomoya's hold as they automatically moved away from each other, forming a respectable distance between them. Shin smirked in satisfaction. The English teacher's timing couldn't be more perfect.

The officer bowed at her politely as she reached them. "Good morning, Fujiyama-sensei."

Kumiko blinked. Was that… _disappointment_ in his voice?

Shizuka didn't seem to take notice though. "Hello again, Yamaguchi-sensei! Hey there, Sawada," she greeted cheerily as she bowed slightly. "Wow, you look great today, Shinohara-san!" she gushed quite openly at the older man, and he blushed in embarrassment. "What are you doing here on the top floor? Kawashima-sensei and I had been waiting for you all morning!"

Appalled, Kumiko could only stare at him. That meant he came to this floor first before meeting with the two women… which also meant he really _was _looking for her.

Shin narrowed his eyes at Shizuka's statement. _If he's here for them, then he has no business whatsoever to come up here,_ he thought. _Unless…_ he glanced at Kumiko, who happened to turn her head toward him at the same time, and he caught that strange look in her eyes before she quickly averted her gaze. He wasn't exactly sure, but he thought she looked a bit… guilty.

His gaze traveled over to the policeman. _Unless he's here for someone else._

Tomoya smiled at the English teacher. "I was just touring the building when I chanced upon Yamaguchi-sensei here," he explained as he motioned to the math teacher beside him.

Kumiko gave a start at the officer's half-lie; a movement that made Shin raise an eyebrow skeptically at the officer's explanation. He also noted that it was back to 'Yamaguchi-sensei' instead of just 'Kumiko.'

Shizuka blinked. "Oh, I see," she mumbled. Then she suddenly brightened. "So are we all set for the date this afternoon?"

Tomoya fidgeted embarrassedly. "Yes, well… it's the four of us, right? You, me, Kawashima-sensei and Kashiwagi-san."

The English teacher nodded enthusiastically. "Hai!"

Shin glanced over at Kumiko, unsure on whether he should feel relieved or sorry when he saw the disappointed drop of her head. "I must be going," she said suddenly. "I still have a class." She turned to go.

"Wait."

Both Shin and Shizuka looked at the policeman in mild surprise at the urgent tone of his voice. Kumiko glanced back at him questioningly.

"Would you…" Tomoya swallowed. "Would you care to join us later?"

Shizuka's mouth dropped open slightly. Shin eyed Kumiko quietly as he watched and waited for her reaction.

An uncomfortable silence settled when the math teacher just stared back at them blankly, not answering. Tomoya quickly rushed to fill in the gap. "Yutaka-san has been requesting your presence too. He says he misses you," he told her as he smiled.

_Yutaka-san_ misses her? Shin rolled his eyes. This guy was as bad a liar as Kumiko was. Almost as clueless too. They'd probably make a great couple if given the chance.

He stopped the train of thought his mind was wandering to. He frowned. It wasn't a particularly endearing thought.

"That's right!" Shizuka chimed in suddenly when Kumiko still didn't answer. "Come with us, Yamaguchi-sensei… you know what they say, the more the merrier!"

Kumiko raised her eyebrows at that. She knew Fujiyama-sensei wouldn't normally invite her to tag along on a date, especially one with Shinohara-san – not unless the English teacher had a hidden agenda.

The jarring sound of the ringing bell broke through the answer Kumiko was about to give, and it startled all four of them.

"Oh my! That's the last warning bell!" Shizuka exclaimed. She turned to the officer and said, "I'm sorry, Shinohara-san, but I really have to go… my first class is going to start in five minutes!" She bowed quickly and ran past them towards Section 3-C, situated just beside Kumiko's room. "Just go talk to Kawashima-sensei downstairs for the details of our date, okay?" she said over her shoulder as she opened the door.

"Will do!" answered Tomoya as he waved. "See you later, Fujiyama-sensei!" he called out as the English teacher entered her room.

"Don't you have a class too, Yankumi?" Shin said suddenly as he turned to her. "You're going to be late if you don't hurry."

Kumiko narrowed her eyes at him. "If I remember correctly, you're part of that 'class' too, you know."

"At least I'm just a student. You're the teacher." He smirked. "What a fine example you set."

She turned to face him fully. "You," she gritted her teeth. "Are really starting to annoy me."

His smirk only widened. Truthfully, he loves it whenever she gets this way. It gives him a strange sense of heated thrill whenever he sees that distinct flash in her eyes. It was a feeling even he couldn't quite understand himself.

"Oh, and Yamaguchi-sensei?" Shizuka suddenly spoke again as she peeked out from inside her classroom. "Make sure you'll tell us later about your affair last night, okay?"

Three pairs of eyes widened as the English teacher promptly closed the door.

_So _that's _her hidden agenda,_ was Kumiko's only thought.

"An affair?" both men blurted out simultaneously. They turned sharply to the stricken Section 3-D adviser. "With who?" they both demanded.

Kumiko could only stare openmouthed at the two men. Officer and student glanced at each other in surprise. Their eyes narrowed as they regarded each other seriously, and they were both silently wondering what the other's intentions _really _were with the pigtailed woman between them. Kumiko's eyes darted back and forth between them, and she could almost feel the suffocating tension that suddenly suffused the air.

She forced a laugh uneasily. "That Fujiyama-sensei! Quite the joker, eh? Ha… ha ha!" The sound echoed through the hallway, yet the men didn't seem to have heard her, and Kumiko bit her lip at the deathly silence that followed as they continued to stare at each other. She watched them nervously and wondered if she was really seeing lightning spark from between their eyes or if it was a figment of her sleep-deprived imagination.

It was Shin who broke the stillness first. "I'm going to class," he said abruptly. He spun on his feet and left without another word.

Tomoya bowed at the young man's departure, a tight-lipped smile on his face. "I guess I should be going too," he said as he bowed to Kumiko as well. "I still have my shift at the station."

Kumiko bowed in return. "Thank you for dropping by, Shinohara-san. And sorry for taking up your time!"

He smiled at her reassuringly. "No worries, Kumiko," he said, and she noticed he reverted to calling her by her first name now that they were alone again. "It was a pleasure to drop by."

She watched him walk away towards the end of the hall and smiled when he paused at the top of the stairs to wave at her. As she raised her hand to wave back at him, she blinked when he dropped his hand and gazed at something beyond her. Puzzled, she snapped her head around and saw Shin standing at the other end of the hall. He was staring back at the policeman with his hand resting on the doorknob of Section 3-D's room. The young boy noticed her looking at him and he promptly entered the classroom. He slammed the door behind him at the same time that the older man disappeared beneath the stairs.

Kumiko was now left alone with her thoughts in the middle of hallway. She dropped her hand to her side, unable to believe how her morning had unfolded. She thought understanding women had been difficult enough. Now though, with what just transpired in the hallway, she was thoroughly convinced the workings of the minds of the male species were as unfathomable as the mysteries of the universe.

"Men." Kumiko harrumphed as he marched over towards Section 3-D. "They just can't keep things simple."

_End of chapter three_

* * *

**A/N: **Ooh. Shinohara's in the scene. What will Shin do now?

For those wondering about my portrayal of Yankumi being clueless about women despite being one herself, well… here's my take on that. Having been raised in the Oedo household, Kumiko grew up with and around men most of her life. For me, that explains her apparent lack of femininity in the show. I applied that to this fic. ;)

- shirotora-san

* * *

Japanese Glossary:

**Baka **– roughly translates to "stupid" or "idiot"

**Hai – **an affirmative response

**Katana **– long Japanese sword, one used by samurais of old

**Kyoto – **Head Teacher / Vice-Principal

Japanese Honorifics:

**-kun **–suffix added to a name to address someone of lower rank and usually used by men. Though profession wise, men may use this to address other men who are in lower rank than them, when used in a cordial way it connotes familiarity or friendliness with a younger man. Men can use this for females too, provided that the female is under him, like when the man happens to be the woman's mentor. When women use this with men it means either that the man is younger than the woman, or the woman has an affectionate regard for the man.


	4. The Sound of Silence

**A/N: **To those wondering about the setting for this fic, I think this will fit best **after Episode 10 of the drama**, and that's assuming Episode 11 and 12 never happened. If you're wondering why, it's because I have another ending in mind. But that's another fic for another time. ;)

The first scene of this chapter picks up from where chapter 3 left off, when Shin went inside Section 3-D's room after his encounter with Kumiko and Shinohara in the hallway. :) Enjoy reading!

* * *

"**REWARD"**

A Gokusen Fanfiction

by shirotora-san

* * *

CHAPTER FOUR

_**The Sound of Silence**_

_BANG!_

The hinges of the door rattled noisily at the loud slamming. The chalkboard near the entrance visibly shook, and it made the chalk box sitting atop it fall and spill its contents all over the floor. The clattering sound echoed piercingly in the sudden silence that enveloped the room. The normally raucous students of Section 3-D grew unusually quiet as they stared at their dark-haired leader standing eerily still in the entrance. One of his hands was still clutching the doorknob tightly and his face was hidden behind his bangs as his head was cast down; something his classmates were somewhat thankful for, because they were slightly afraid of what they might see in his features. They could practically feel the negative aura radiating from him in waves. They glanced at each other out of the corners of their eyes, and they all arrived at the same conclusion.

Shin Sawada must be in a very, _very _bad mood today.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and slowly made his way towards his desk at the back of the classroom, a place unofficially reserved solely for him. It was a testament of how much he was respected - and sometimes even feared - by his classmates. A wide berth was formed as the boys moved away when he walked by them, and some of them even shifted their desks away to let him pass. They kept a safe distance from him, and their gazes wary as they watched him plop down unceremoniously into his seat. He brusquely dropped his school bag to the floor and kicked it under his table before he exhaled loudly and let his arms dangle down the side of his chair. He looked up and blinked when he saw the entire class staring apprehensively at him. He raised an eyebrow at them. The boys took that small action as a warning and they all quickly returned to their seats.

Noda let out a low whistle when he saw the hostile expression on Shin's face, a look that could make the Grim Reaper proud. "Whoa," he said, peering closer at Shin. "What the hell happened to you?"

It was common knowledge that there were only a few people in this world whom Shin Sawada respected, and it was known that the number of people he placed his faith on was even less. And as for those he actually trusted enough to allow them to get closer to him than most people, one could actually count them in his fingers. In this class, for example, there were only four. All of them were situated near the back of the classroom close to him, like loyal followers of a mighty king; followers who get nearly the same amount of fear and respect from their classmates as him. That's why they were currently the only ones brave enough to speak so casually and so openly to him – even in this precise moment when he seemed so volatile and utterly dangerous to provoke. They gathered around him, for they already had a hunch that something really interesting – or something really, _really_ bad– was up with their mysterious, unpredictable friend.

"You look like you're ready to beat someone up," Minami commented. He rested an arm on the back of his chair as he turned over in his seat to look at Shin. "Did you come across an enemy or something?"

Shin turned to him slowly as he pondered the question. "Something like that," was his quiet reply.

"Really?" exclaimed Noda. He was thoroughly intrigued now, and he pulled his chair nearer towards Shin's desk.

Kuma blinked confusedly as he stepped down from his seat on top of his desk. He sat down beside Shin. "What do you mean, 'something like that'? Who's he?"

"Do we know him?" Noda added.

"C'mon Shin, tell us!" Minami exclaimed. "I can't stand the suspense!"

"Yeah, who did you meet, huh?" Uchi inquired as he swiveled in his chair excitedly to face Shin.

Shin blinked at the four eager faces awaiting his answer. For a brief moment, the image of Tomoya's hand resting on Kumiko's arm flashed in his mind. His eyes glinted ominously as he spoke.

"An old rival."

"All right!" Uchi whooped loudly, and the rest of the class turned to look at them curiously. Shin glared at them, as if he was silently telling them to mind their own business. "Keep your voice down," he told Uchi tersely.

"Sorry," Uchi mumbled, then brightened once more. He placed his hands on Shin's table and leaned towards him. He whispered conspiringly, "Do you want us to beat him up?"

The grave look on his blonde-haired friend's face was almost funny. Shin shook his head. His friends were really good guys, no doubt about that, and their hearts were in the right place, but sometimes… they just couldn't resist a good fight. "Don't bother," he told them.

Four different sounding groans responded to that statement. "Aw, but how come?" Noda complained.

The clicking of the doorknob diverted the boys' attention before Shin could answer. Everyone in the room turned at the sound. The door was pushed open slowly, and the bespectacled face of their female adviser peeked from behind it.

Shin smiled. "Because," he said slowly. "I think I can beat him on my own."

* * *

_I'm in the wrong classroom._

That was Kumiko's first thought when she opened the door to Section 3-D's room. She tentatively stepped inside, uncomfortably aware of how several sets of eyes followed her as she made her way to her desk in front of the classroom. Her second thought was that, contrary to what she told Sawatari-san earlier, maybe she _had _neglected to clean her ears that morning. She was sure her ears weren't functioning properly because of what she was hearing inside the room. Or rather, what she _wasn't_ hearing. She dropped her things loudly on the table, and the sound startled everyone in the room. She frowned and faced her students abruptly.

"Did someone die?"

Shin raised an eyebrow at the morbid statement.

"Oi, what kind of question is that, Yankumi!" Uchi burst out.

Kumiko narrowed her eyes at him but refrained from answering. Her gaze roved slowly around the room as she waited for the other boys to agree, to groan, to throw insults at her; anything that could count as a reaction. But _no,_ the normally boisterous boys of Section 3-D remained blessedly quiet. The uncharacteristic silence was unnerving… creepily like the calm before a storm.

_And with this kind of people, _Kumiko thought grimly. _One should probably expect a full-scale typhoon. "_Well if no one did, then…" she placed her hands on her hips. "Why are you all so quiet?" she demanded.

The boys could only blink in response.

Shin rolled his eyes. What a warped little brain this woman has.

Uchi exhaled loudly and placed both feet atop his desk, and it prompted a disapproving look on his teacher's face. "When we talk, you complain. When we _don't _talk, you _still _complain. What the hell do you really want us to do then, huh, Yankumi?" He turned his head around and grinned at his smirking friends near the back row. "Teachers. You just can't understand them."

Kumiko smiled tightly at the resounding laughter that followed. "Well, I was just wondering. When I tell you guys to shut up, you don't. When I tell you not to, you do." She cocked her head to the side thoughtfully. "Is it me or do you guys just can't understand simple Japanese?" She clasped her hands behind her back and shook her head slowly. "Students. You just can't understand them."

"Ooh," Minami taunted as he reached out and punched Uchi lightly on the shoulder. "Now _that's _a comeback for you, boy."

Uchi bristled and threw his teacher a murderous glare, to which she responded with a sweet smile. "And feet down, Uchiyama," she told him. "I assume that by now you should know they belong on the floor and not on top of the table. I'm sure you don't need to understand simple Japanese to know that."

Grudgingly, amidst jeers and teases from the boys around him, Uchi obeyed.

A smile tugged on Shin's lips when he saw Kumiko grin triumphantly at them. True, he probably would never understand her even if he tried. But then again, the unpredictability of her constantly changing disposition coupled with her sharp wit was what made her interesting… and all the more appealing. Besides, no one else can make the rebellious students of Section 3-D actually follow given commands – no matter how crazy or far-fetched – the way she can. Hell, she can even make _him _play along with her silly ideas. He usually doesn't like it when someone exercises power over him, as he's used to always being in control of the situation, but somehow, when it comes to her, he finds himself complying with her every whim.

He stared at her from beneath his bangs. How was he to know that the person who could finally make him give in would be a pint-sized woman like her?

"Jeez," Uchi muttered to Kumiko. "You're touchy today. Is it _that _time of the month already?"

"Huh?" was his teacher's blank reply. "What time?"

…and an incredibly dense woman at that.

Uchi threw his hands up in the air. "Argh. Never mind," he groused. He wasn't about to explain the workings of the female anatomy to a woman who sometimes just doesn't seem to be one.

Shin shook his head and felt his smile grow wider. For some strange reason, he felt himself admiring her just a little more.

Kumiko grinned widely at the noisy chatter starting out around the room, and she felt the unexplainable tension in the room slowly ease. Pleased at how things seemed to be finally returning to normal, she started to walk around her desk, only to stop abruptly when she saw the clutter of chalk scattered across the floor behind her desk.

"Mou," she muttered as she got down on her hands and knees to pick up the mess. "What have you people been doing here? Can't you even leave this poor old chalk box alone?" she grumbled, her voice sounding muffled from beneath her desk. "Sometimes you boys should really learn to behave. Who made this thing fall to the floor anyway?"

Silence.

Blinking in surprise, Kumiko sat up and peered at her suddenly quiet students. It's a wonder how a simple remark about a measly chalk box can render her uncontrollable students silent better than months of her sweet-talking and/or yelling at them. She pursed her lips in annoyance. The day was unfolding much too peculiarly for her to keep her sanity intact, and she could already feel her control on her nerves being pushed to the limit.

The boys shifted uneasily in their seats as they glanced quickly at each other, and her eyes narrowed at what she interpreted to be their guilty movements. She looked around at them all and searched for anyone who could possibly explain this bizarre situation to her… and her gaze fell upon the deep dark eyes that stared back at her from across the room.

She quickly dropped her head and resumed her task of cleaning up the floor as she gathered all the chalk into the box as fast as she could. Why was Sawada watching her again? What's with that look in his eyes? Had he always been this way? Why hadn't she noticed before? And why was she thinking about him too damn much anyway?

"Oh yeah," she heard Noda speak up suddenly. "Somebody came in this morning. He was looking for you."

"Really?" Kumiko mumbled distractedly as she reached for a stray colored chalk that had rolled underneath her chair. "Who?"

Noda seemed to think about it. "Let's see… what was his name again?" he mumbled to himself. He turned his head to one side and snapped his fingers as he searched his memory for that elusive name. "It's that really important looking guy who drops by sometimes… you know, that policeman…"

Realization came upon Shin in an instant. He sat up straighter in his seat and stared at Noda in disbelief. _No way…_

"Ah!" Kuma suddenly interjected. "It's Shinohara, right?"

Startled, Kumiko bumped her head from under her desk. _What?!_

Noda clapped his hands together and pointed at his chubby friend. "Yeah! That's him!"

Shin stared at Kumiko as she quickly stood up with an incredulous look on her face. So the policeman _was _here for her…

As she fumbled with the chalk box clutched tightly in her hands, Kumiko managed to stammer out, "S-So it's true then? Shinohara-san really _did_ come in here asking for me?"

Silence fell upon the class once more. Shin's eyes narrowed. What did she mean by—

"Oi Yankumi."

Everyone turned towards Minami as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his desk. Then, quite unexpectedly… he grinned.

"What exactly did you mean by… '_It's true_'?"

Slowly, similar, implicative grins spread across his classmates' faces as they all turned to look at their teacher. As she suddenly realized what exactly she had blurted out, Kumiko paled.

Minami raised his eyebrows. "Well?"

_Crap,_ thought Kumiko frantically._ How do I get myself out of this one? _"Uh… it's because… well, you see—"

"You _knew _he was looking for you, didn't you, Yankumi?" Noda cut her off. "Now why would you expect that?"

She blinked. "Well, we happened to meet at the hallway before the bell rang—"

"Really?" The entire class chorused as they leaned forward in their seats.

Kumiko took an involuntary step backwards, suddenly intimidated by the probing looks in their eyes. This doesn't look good…

"What's he doing here?" pressed Minami. "More importantly, what's he doing here looking for _you_?"

Shin's gaze traveled over to her. That's exactly what he'd like to know as well.

"He's not here for me, you know," she replied, and Shin caught the underlying bitterness in the seemingly nonchalant statement. "He's here for Fujiyama-sensei and Kawashima-sensei. They have a double date this afternoon."

…_which Shinohara invited you to_, Shin continued quietly in his mind. He stared at her when he suddenly realized he never knew what her answer to the older man's invitation was.

"Ah, I see…" Minami mused as he nodded to himself. "So he's here for the other two, right? I guess I couldn't blame him for going after the prettier, sexier women."

"Like Fujiyama-sensei…" Noda said dreamily.

"Oh yeah, now _that _woman is _hot_!" Minami added.

Noda grinned at him. "Sizzling."

"Heh," said Uchi. "We should have known no guy in his right mind would fall for Yankumi that easily… unless of course she conked him in the head or something. That would officially mean he's crazy."

Laughter rose as murmurs of agreement rippled across the room. Kumiko pressed her lips together in a tight smile. _That's right, Kumiko, _she thought to herself. _Keep it quiet… don't blow this…_

"But that's weird," Kuma suddenly piped up. "If he was here for the two women, then why did he come in here asking for Yankumi?"

And for the nth time that morning, the class grew quiet.

Kumiko could only stare at her portly student in disbelief. It seemed that when it comes to meddling with other people's lives, her dim-witted students actually use their brains and become the best of detectives at all the wrong moments. If gossip had been part of the school curriculum, they'd pass with flying colors for sure.

The expression on Kuma's face was that of wonder. "So a man is actually looking for you, Yankumi…" he mused with a faraway look. "What does it mean then?"

"This Shinohara guy…" said Uchi as he rubbed a hand to his chin thoughtfully. "Is he your suitor or something?"

"Nah, I don't think so," Minami cut in before Kumiko could answer. "Don't you think it's too much if a guy actually checks in on a girl if he's _only _his suitor?" He stopped abruptly at that statement as another thought occurred to him. "Unless… he's already Yankumi's boyfriend?"

Shin's hands curled into fists. Kuma turned and blinked when he saw Shin's hands slightly trembling.

"I don't think he's that, either," Noda piped up. "He looks much too proper to just be someone's boyfriend. He seems like the type who takes that boring relationship stuff seriously. You know, a guy who's likely to be someone's fiancé." His eyes suddenly widened. "Then that would mean that he… and Yankumi…"

Spots of pink colored Kumiko's cheeks at the insinuation, and she wasn't sure if it was out of embarrassment or delight. "Mou! Stop it, you guys! Shinohara-san and I are—"

"Wow, Yankumi! That was quick!" said Uchi, a look of utter amazement on his face. "How did you manage to hook that guy up?"

Kumiko stared at him. "You're making it sound as if the poor man's a fish." She shook her head. "Shinohara-san and I are just—"

"And hey, how come you never told us?" Noda said suddenly. "That's unfair, Yankumi! How come you never said you and Shinohara are lovers now?"

A grating sound cut through the vehement denial Kumiko was about to say. Shin had pushed his leg against his desk for leverage and shoved his chair backwards. Everyone turned to look at him in surprise.

"Don't be stupid guys." He leaned back against the wall and crossed one leg over the other as he met his startled teacher's eyes with a smirk. "Don't talk about something that would never happen."

The laughter in the room was cut short when Kumiko spoke. "Shinohara-san and I are not lovers." Shin could tell she was doing her best to keep her voice steady, a sure sign that she was dangerously close to losing her temper. "He came here to confirm the date he and Kashiwagi-san have with Kawashima-sensei and Fujiyama-sensei. He invited me to come, but that was only out of courtesy, and not for any other reason you guys have running around in your twisted minds." She turned to him suddenly. "Satisfied?"

Though she addressed the class as a whole, Shin knew that the question was directed solely at him. In response, he only smirked wider, and he delighted in the flash of anger he saw in her eyes.

The bell rang once again. It signaled the end of homeroom class and dissuaded the hostile tension everyone felt was sparking between their homeroom adviser and their class leader. Kumiko broke her eye contact with Shin and started gathering her things to prepare for her next class.

Kuma regarded Shin's taut and rigid form quietly. He noted how the dark-haired boy seemed to be more edgy than usual. Because he already knew Shin for as long as he did, Kuma felt that something was really bothering his best friend a lot. And for for the life of him, he had no idea what could have gotten on Shin's bad side this morning.

As he felt someone's eyes on him, Shin suddenly turned his head to look at Kuma. The blonde-haired boy blinked in surprise, caught in the act of watching him. Shin raised his eyebrows at him questioningly.

Kuma cleared his throat. "Uh… Shin?"

"Yeah?"

Kuma paused for a moment and thought hard about how he was going to phrase his next words. "About that guy you were telling us earlier…"

"What about him?"

Kuma met Shin's gaze evenly. "Are you sure you don't need any help with him?"

Unable to look at Kuma's searching eyes directly, Shin turned his head away. "Yes."

Kuma narrowed his eyes. He knew by how vaguely Shin was answering him that his best friend wasn't telling the whole truth. He felt with certainty that Shin was keeping something from him… from all of them. And he wanted to find out exactly what that was. "And you're going to beat him alone?"

That ominous glint was back in Shin's eyes, this time accompanied with grim determination in his voice. "_Yes._"

Another ambiguous answer. Kuma pressed his lips together, not about to give up that easily. "Are you absolutely sure? Maybe you need our help or something…"

Shin looked up just in time to catch his teacher glancing at him as she made her way towards the door. Their gazes locked, and she glared at him with a look so fierce he could almost feel the fury shooting from her eyes, an open challenge evident in them. He smiled. What a wild, fiery little creature she is. And she was challenging him now? Well then… he just might have to take up that challenge later on. And he'll make sure that he – and definitely _not _Shinohara - will be the one to tame her.

"There's no need for that, Kuma. Leave it to me," said the Section 3-D leader quietly as he eyed the slim form of Yamaguchi Kumiko appreciatively… possessively. "Because this one… is _mine._"

* * *

The smell of coffee was heady, intoxicating. He closed his eyes and smiled contentedly as he savored the way the rich aroma drowned out everything else around him. For a moment, he forgot he was in a busy office where telephones kept ringing off the hook and uniformed men and women kept going in and out of the room, occasionally dragging with them reluctant people in handcuffs who, on the worst of days, tend to be loud, violent and simply uncooperative. He leaned back on his seat and inhaled deeply as he imagined that he was in a place far from here, away from all the noise and chaos of urban living, a place where he could spend a quiet moment with – and the thought came unbidden – a certain young woman who seemed to be on his mind a lot lately. He opened his eyes and raised the cup of coffee he held to take a sip… 

"Mattaku! This stuff is heavy! How did this pile up so much so soon?"

…and his pleasant reverie was rudely interrupted when a heap of papers was dropped unceremoniously onto his desk. His cup stopped halfway towards his lips and he glared at the man who disturbed his much-needed break.

"Hey, don't give me that look," said Yutaka exasperatedly as he raised his hands in front of him. "We've put off organizing this stuff for too long. Taicho is getting angry. He wants us to finish filing these papers once and for all."

Tomoya sighed as he placed his cup on his desk. True, he loves his work as a policeman. It's a tough job to handle, but then again, being a 'guardian of the law' has its perks too. Paperwork, however, was not one of them. "What are these files about?" he asked as he reluctantly pulled the pile of papers towards him.

Yutaka flopped down on the chair in front of his partner's desk. "Mostly just records about petty crimes done by juvenile delinquents in the area. A lot of them are about those weird happenings involving that school, Shirokin Gakuen," he answered and placed his feet atop the other chair across from him.

"Feet on the floor, Kashiwagi-san," Tomoya reprimanded automatically without even looking up from the papers he was going over. "That looks so unprofessional. You wouldn't want the other officers seeing you like that."

Yutaka rolled his eyes and set his feet down on the floor. "Yes, mother."

Tomoya pursed his lips but let the jibe pass. His gaze roved over the papers one by one as he checked their contents briefly. "A lot of these cases involve that class, Section 3-D," he commented, a hint of amusement evident in his voice.

"Yeah," said Yutaka as he leaned and placed his hands behind his head. "Yamaguchi-sensei must have had a lot to handle," he mused out loud. He failed to notice how his partner's head shot up at the mere mention of the Section 3-D adviser's name. "It's amazing how a pretty little woman like that can handle a bunch of rowdy teenage boys like them."

_No…_ Tomoya ducked his head as a smile spread across his face when he remembered his encounter with the quirky math teacher this morning. She had looked so amusing then, so flustered and agitated and so… so…

_Beautiful_. His eyes softened. _Not pretty… but beautiful._

"Ah! That's right!" Yutaka said suddenly, jolting Tomoya back to his senses. Yutaka turned to his partner sharply and eagerly asked, "What did Kumiko-chan say?"

Tomoya raised an eyebrow. "Kumiko-_chan_?"

Yutaka ignored him. "You talked with her, right? You know, when you went to Shirokin Gakuen this morning," he continued saying. "Is she coming to our date this afternoon?" At the surprised look on his partner's features, Yutaka's face fell. "You didn't invite her?"

"I did!" said Tomoya quickly. "It's just that… she…" he trailed off.

"She what, Shinohara-san, she _what_?" pressed Yutaka frantically.

Tomoya blinked as his partner rose from his seat and leaned forward towards him. "Well…" he shrugged embarrassedly. "She never really gave me an answer."

Yutaka stared at him. "You know… for a policeman honed with the crafty skills that can weasel out well-kept secret information from the most notorious criminals during interrogations…" he flopped back down on his seat and shook his head. "You sure are impossible with getting answers from women."

"Oi," Tomoya frowned at him. "I resent that remark."

Yutaka heaved a big sigh. "And I was so hoping to see Kumiko-chan this afternoon too," he said. "It's the only thing today that I'm looking forward to. It's been such a boring day I wish some juvenile delinquent would start some trouble somewhere just to make this day interesting."

"Watch it, Kashiwagi-san," Tomoya chided gently. "Be careful what you wish for. You may be regretting those words later."

Yutaka snorted. "I doubt it," he said dryly as he stood up. "I'm going to get the other papers we need to file. I left it on my desk."

With a look of utter disbelief, Tomoya's gaze traveled from his partner to the stack of papers in front of him and back again. "There's _more_?"

Yutaka grinned. "You may want to finish that coffee, Shinohara-san. It's going to be a long time before our next break," he said before he jogged off.

Tomoya massaged his temples with his fingers. He could already feel a headache coming on. He lifted the cup of coffee to his lips and was about to take a sip when he suddenly stopped. He placed the cup back down on his desk and craned his neck to check if his partner was already gone. As soon as he was sure no one was looking, he took a deep breath and slowly opened his desk drawer.

He rummaged inside. He sifted through supplies and papers and reached into the corner for the precious object he kept hidden there. He took it out slowly, carefully. He held it gently on one hand, as if he was cradling some delicate piece of porcelain. His gaze softened as he let his other hand travel over the simple silver border of the frame before he fingered the glass encasing the picture inside.

The man in the image stood with a dignified stance, the proud, confident way he carried himself an indication of how he had triumphed over the worst of life's challenges. His eyes held the wisdom of a man who suffered much, the pain veiled in them outshone by the warmth of his smile. His features were worn but gentle; the barely visible wrinkles in the corners of his eyes an evidence of how he had always faced his everyday life with a smile. He was a good man, a righteous man, his kindness immeasurable, his generosity unconditional. Tomoya knew all of these well… because if it hadn't been for this man, he wouldn't be who he is now.

He could hear his partner returning. He gently placed the frame inside his drawer, with the picture facing upwards, and he closed the drawer slightly.

Yutaka reappeared. He was grunting under the weight of the papers he was carrying. Tomoya's desk shook as these were dropped upon it, and the chair in front of it squeaked as Yutaka collapsed on it.

"You know," Yutaka spoke up as he watched his partner start to sort out the papers. "There _is_ such a thing as being too much of a workaholic. It's bad for you. Ever thought of having a girlfriend?"

Tomoya glanced at him and raised his eyebrows. "Why the sudden interest in my love life, Kashiwagi-san?"

Yutaka shrugged and pulled a pile of papers toward him. "I never saw you interested in women, Shinohara-san… even when they're the ones interested in you," he said, unable to keep the envy out of his voice.

"Are they now?" said Tomoya amusedly.

Yutaka gaped at him. "They're practically fawning all over you! Are you really that dense?"

His partner threw him a look of warning, and Yutaka raised his hands to appease him. "Okay, that probably wasn't the best thing to say, but… really, aren't you attracted to any woman right now? Not one?"

For a moment, Tomoya stopped what he was doing. He pondered the question silently.

'_What are you doing all the way here on the top floor?'_

'…_I wanted to see you.'_

The policeman resumed his work. "None."

Yutaka shook his head as his partner once again immersed himself within the papers. "Someday, Shinohara-san, you're going to realize you need a woman in your life." He sighed and proceeded to classify the papers he was going over into separate piles. "Every man needs one."

Tomoya chuckled and glanced upon the frame lying inside his partially open drawer. The man in the picture had his arm around a woman, a pretty lady with a roguish smile and a playful glimmer in her bright eyes. Even in a still form her aura seemed to radiate a certain exuberance, the undeniable joy and love she emanates apparent with the way the man held her close. She seemed to shine with the way she smiled, her light a powerful catharsis to the shadows that had come upon her and her family. Tomoya knew she was different from everyone else, for she was a woman haunted by her past, her background. Nevertheless, she was an incredible woman. Tomoya knew that for the man in the picture, she had been the perfect mate: a woman with the passion, courage and determination to match his own.

"Hey, I just realized something," said Yutaka suddenly. "Kumiko-chan didn't say she was going to the date later, right?"

"No, she didn't," Tomoya answered quietly. He hoped he didn't sound as disappointed as he felt.

"But then again…" A grin broke across Yutaka's face. "She also didn't say she _wasn't _going."

Tomoya looked up from the papers he was poring over and stared at his partner, who seemed much happier now. "Meaning…?"

"Meaning there's still a chance she might be there!" Yutaka announced gleefully. He rested his elbow upon the desk and leaned his chin onto his hand as he dreamily sighed. "I really hope she comes. I want to see her again so much."

Tomoya smiled as he took one last look at the picture frame inside his drawer. His gaze traveled from the figure of the man he owed his life to, then to the woman beside him whom _he _owed _his _life to, and finally to their source of happiness seated between them… the little girl in glasses and pigtails who had her mother's mischievous sparkle in her eyes and her father's warm compassion in her smile.

"Me too, Kashiwagi-san," Tomoya said softly before he finally pushed his desk drawer shut. "Me too."

* * *

"_All right! Only one more week to go!_" 

Kumiko blinked in surprise at the excited male voice that suddenly rang out in the hallway. It was already late afternoon, and she just came from an emergency faculty meeting Kyoto had called earlier that day. Classes had long been over, so the only people who should still be inside the campus were the teachers and the staff. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. The voice she heard definitely belonged to a student.

She stood on tiptoe and craned her neck as she searched for the source of the voice. Her eyes fell upon the cluster of boys crowded around a certain memo posted on the bulletin board near the building's main entrance. Her curiosity piqued, she slowly walked towards them as she stared at the back of their heads. Two had shoulder-length hair, two had short-cropped ones; two had reddish-brown hair and two had blonde; and one of them had an unruly mass of dark, wavy hair that made him stand out strikingly from the others.

She abruptly stopped a few feet away from them. She stared at the slouched figure of the tall, lanky boy standing with his hands in his pockets and looking on disinterestedly a short distance away from the other four. Then, as if her presence alerted some unknown radar only he could sense, the boy turned his head sideways to look behind him, and she saw something indecipherable spark in his eyes when his searching gaze found hers.

She felt her heart jump. Oh those deep dark eyes she knew so well.

He turned to face her fully, his gaze locked on her intently, intensely, like a predator who finally found his prey. Slowly, the impassive look on his face dissolved, and his features turned both gentle and heated as the corners of his lips curved upward in the barest hint of a smile.

_Oh kami… _was Kumiko's only thought as she felt her knees grow weak at the sight of him looking at her like that. It was precisely _that _kind of look that Kumiko had been trying all day to avoid… which was a hard thing to do since he happened to be her student.

Math class with Section 3-D had been the worst. As if trying to pound some math sense into her dim-witted students' heads hadn't been difficult enough, she found it hard to concentrate on the lesson she was discussing whenever she'd look up from the textbook she was reading out loud and she'd see him staring at her unabashedly from across the room. Her cheeks would then flush heatedly in a mixture of embarrassment, frustration, anger, and something else she couldn't quite comprehend, and she'd turn his back on him… and still she'd feel his eyes upon her, watching her closely. And when she had given her class a pop quiz (amidst loud groans and a few expletives here and there), he'd glance up every once in a while from the paper he was writing on and hold her gaze in his for a few short moments before he'd drop his gaze once more whenever one of his classmates would turn to look at either him or her. And then, when that particular classmate of his had turned away and he was once again sure that no was looking, he'd glance at her again and give her that trademark grin of his.

That distinctly familiar countenance would then trigger within her memories of what he did to _her _just yesterday in the same classroom. She wasn't sure if she wanted a repeat activity of _that…_ although a teeny, tiny part of her wondered why he had pulled away too soon after he did it. Fortunately for her, Section 3-D hadn't been her last class that day. And she had never been more relieved and glad when Kyoto called that emergency meeting, because it meant that the chances of encountering him after class would be slim. It seemed however, that fate insisted on making the most of that slim chance and presented him now in front of her. And with everything that had happened since yesterday afternoon, right now, as she looked at his undeniably handsome features, she was torn between wanting to throttle him and wanting to kiss him.

She blinked. Now where did that thought come from?

…_Yamaguchi, you must be really going crazy._

"Aren't you overstaying a bit, Yankumi?" he drawled at her, snapping her out of the dangerous thoughts her mind was wandering to.

Kumiko pursed her lips. "For your information, _Sawada_, I had a faculty meeting. Which means I _do _have a reason to 'overstay'. You guys, on the other hand, _don't._" She glanced pointedly at the boys behind him.

Uchi tore his gaze away from the bulletin board to look at her briefly. "I don't remember a rule saying we have to have one."

Kumiko furrowed her brows. "What are you guys so excited about anyway?" she asked curiously. She walked forward and weaved herself between them, ignoring the boys' loud complaints as she pushed her way to the front. "Lemme see!" She turned up in front of the bulletin board to peer at the object of her students' avid attention. Plastered across the poster in huge, curvy characters was the caption:

"_A Night to Remember – The _Shirokin Gakuen_ and _Hanasho Gakuen_ Dance_"

_Oh… _that _dance, _Kumiko thought in realization.

It seemed that Principal Shirakawa was intent on breaking every known tradition of an all-boys high school because this was a year of many 'firsts' for Shirokin Gakuen. Aside from the fact that it was the first year the school hired female teachers, it was also the first year Shirokin Gakuen decided to host an inter-school dance with another high school – an all-girls one. The reason for this, according to Principal Shirakawa, was that he wanted his students to be more… _exposed_, so to speak, to the opposite gender.

"One whole night with a bunch of pretty girls…" Minami sighed. "What more can a boy ask for?"

Kumiko shook her head. In her honest opinion, these boys were already much too 'exposed' to girls for their own good.

Noda leaned back against the board dreamily. "Just think, you guys! A whole night of partying and dancing and mingling with _girls_! And with no rules, no curfew, no adults to crash the party—"

"Wait a minute," Kumiko interrupted him. "Who told you there aren't going to be any adults there?"

The boys looked at her in surprise. "What are you saying, Yankumi?" asked Kuma.

She turned around to face them. "You didn't actually believe we teachers would allow you boys to have all the fun now, did you?" she said with a smirk.

Four mouths dropped open. "You mean… _you're _gonna be there?"

"Of course!" Kumiko grinned widely and spread her arms outward. "I wouldn't want you guys to miss me!"

Four mouths closed and let out loud groans. "Aw, man!" moaned Uchi as he threw his head back. "The worst party crasher is coming to the dance!"

"Yeah?" Kumiko cocked her head to one side. "Who?"

All four turned to glare at her.

She blinked. "What? What did I say?"

Shin turned his head away and pressed his lips together to keep from laughing out loud.

"Oi!" Kumiko cried out when her students started to walk away from her. "Where are you guys going?"

The boys ignored her as they muttered amongst themselves something about a dense little woman coming to ruin their fun at the dance.

Kumiko pursed her lips. So her students were ignoring her, huh? Her lips spread into a smile. She knew exactly how she could get their attention back.

"Fujiyama-sensei is going to be there!" she called out.

Her students abruptly stopped. It was Noda who reacted first. He turned around to face her again. "Really?" he asked, a hopeful note in his voice.

Shin smirked. He had to admire the way she knew how to push their buttons well.

Kumiko nodded vigorously. "Hai, hai! And Kawashima-sensei too!"

The other three turned to her as well. They all slowly stepped forward towards her. "So… there are other teachers coming to the dance?" Minami inquired.

Another emphatic nod. "Teachers are coming from that other school too," said Kumiko. "And since they're coming from an all-girls school, that means…" She grinned at them. "They're all women."

As soon as she said that, Kumiko wished she had earplugs with her the moment the boys let out deafening cheers at the elating news.

"Woo-hoo! More girls!" Uchi whooped.

"Granted, they're older women, but then again…" Noda grinned. "I've always liked the mature ones."

"And besides," added Minami as he threw an arm around the other two. "More women mean more choices."

Kuma's face lit up. "And there would more than enough for all of us!"

Four fists punched the air. "_All riiight_!"

Shin rolled his eyes. His homeroom adviser's hyperbolical attitude was rubbing off on his friends.

Kuma sighed as he let his arm fall to his side. "All this excitement is making me hungry," he mumbled as he rubbed his tummy. He glanced out the door. "Ah!" His eyes widened as he pointed outside. "The hot dog stand is closing! _Nooo_…!" All thoughts of pretty girls forgotten at the thought of an empty stomach, Kuma rushed quickly out the door.

"Oi Kuma!" said Minami as he ran after his portly friend. "Can't you stop thinking about food for once in your life?"

"Wait up you guys!" Noda called up as he hurried to follow them.

"Kuma!" Uchi yelled as he stumbled on his way out the door. "Buy a sandwich for all of us, why don'cha?"

The door closed behind him.

Shin inclined his head slightly and glanced outside to note where his friends were. Satisfied, he then turned to woman in front of him and smirked when he saw her eyes widen. He knew that she had just probably realized the same thing.

They were now left alone in the empty hallway.

He started to step slowly towards her. Kumiko could feel her heart beating rapidly against her chest. She swallowed, resisting the sudden strong urge to run. She cleared her throat awkwardly.

"So!" she said brightly as she bounced on her toes and clasped her hands behind her back. "Sawada… you're coming to the dance, right?"

He stopped a few steps away from her. "That depends," he said mysteriously. "Are you going to be there?"

Kumiko puffed herself up. "I _have _to!" she said indignantly. "Somebody has to make sure you guys stay out of trouble!" She grinned at him and, out of sheer force of habit, reached out to ruffle his hair.

Shin caught her wrist deftly in his hand before she could touch him. "S-Sawada!" Kumiko stammered as she tried in vain to pry her hand away from his. "W-What are you doing?"

He slowly loosened his grip on her wrist and let his fingers slide across her arm until her hand was resting on his knuckles. With his eyes never leaving her face, he slowly lowered his head as his hand raised hers towards him. Then, as his eyes fluttered close, he pressed his lips ever so gently against the tips of her fingers. At her gasp of surprise, he opened his eyes and slowly lowered her hand and entwined his fingers in hers. He took a step forward and, in a striking resemblance of _another_ man's action earlier that day, he tenderly tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

Shin smiled at her softly. "See you at the dance, then."

His lips felt tender and warm, and that warmth spread from the tips of her fingers to suffuse her entire body. His eyes bore into hers, and she could feel herself melting under his gaze. Before her knees could give way however, Kumiko abruptly pulled her hand from his grasp and blurted out the one thing she knew would help her regain some semblance of control over herself.

"Shinohara-san will be there too."

Instantly though, she knew it had been the wrong thing to say.

Like a cloud passing over the sun, Shin's face darkened. "Why?" he bit the word out harshly. "Did you invite him?" His eyes narrowed and he took another step closer to her.

Kumiko stood her ground. She didn't like the tone of voice her student was using. "It wasn't my idea you know," she retorted. "Kyoto insisted that he come. In fact, he, Kashiwagi-san, and a few other officers are coming to make sure that the whole event would run smoothly."

Shin raised an eyebrow at that. "Meaning?"

"Meaning they're there to help us keep you guys out of trouble," Kumiko flatly replied.

He smirked. "So they're actually _expecting _some kind of trouble at the dance?" he said dryly.

_With Shirokin Gakuen's reputation and Section 3-D's penchant for trouble… YES. _Kumiko smiled tightly. "Just taking necessary precautions."

He continued to stare at her. He wasn't making single moving, he wasn't saying a single word. Kumiko shifted uncomfortably. _Please let this conversation be done,_ she thought desperately. _Please let him realize he's hungry and that a hot dog sandwich sounds incredibly delicious right now…_

He threw her off-guard with what he said next. "You and Shinohara seem to be getting rather close lately."

Kumiko blinked at the sudden shift in topic. Her eyes narrowed at the way he refused to add an honorific to the older man's name. "Well if we are, does it matter?"

The challenge in her voice was clear. Shin smirked. "It doesn't," he replied as he took another step forward. "It only matters to me if it matters to you."

Her brows furrowed slightly. There was definitely an underlying meaning behind that statement. "Why would it matter to me?"

His eyes glinted ominously. "You tell me."

_This conversation is getting nowhere_. Kumiko glared at him. "Stop beating around the bush, Sawada. Out with it. What are you trying to say?"

My, she's getting quite touchy now. Shin smirked even wider. "Did you really mean what you said this morning about you and Shinohara?"

_This again!_ Kumiko felt ready to yank her hair out in frustration. "What do you want me to say then?" she exclaimed as she threw her arms in the air. "That Shinohara-san and I really are lovers?"

To her surprise, Shin burst out laughing. Kumiko placed her hands on her hips. "What the hell is so damn funny?!" she demanded.

He ducked his head to control his laughter and took another step forward towards her. They were now standing mere inches away from each other. And as he peered at her from beneath his bangs, he quietly told her, "Don't talk about something that would never happen."

The repetition of his earlier statement and the way he sounded so sure of himself angered Kumiko on many levels. She raised her chin defiantly at him. "What makes you so sure?"

He took one final step closer to her. "Because I wouldn't let it happen."

He slipped his hand through her hair as he pulled her in and captured her mouth in his, much in the same way he did yesterday. This time, however… he didn't let her go at once. His other arm snaked around her waist and pressed her body closer to him. His lips moved over hers lingeringly and deeply as he savored her taste fully and relished the feel of her so weak and compliant in his arms. He nipped slightly at her lower lip, delighting in her surprised gasp, and sucked on it gently before he finally pulled away.

He opened his eyes and smiled when he saw her flushed visage, her eyes still closed. "Breathe, Yankumi."

Her eyes snapped open in surprise. Smirking, he held her by the shoulders when she swayed slightly, and when he was sure she could stand on her own, he released her. With her still blinking dazedly at him, he turned around and walked away.

Still reeling from the heady sensations that were coursing throughout her body, Kumiko struggled to gather her wits together. She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry, and rasped out the only question her muddled mind could come up with.

"Why… did you do that?"

Shin stopped in his tracks.

"Because…"

He slowly turned to face her.

"Classes are already over."

He winked at her. "Remember?"

And with an amused half-smile on his lips, he turned and left.

Kumiko gaped soundlessly at his retreating figure as she thought that perhaps her arrogant little student was enjoying his 'reward' a bit too much for his own good. And as she reached up to touch her lips and remembered the way his had felt, the way his had _tasted…_ she slowly acknowledged the uneasy feeling that maybe, _just _maybe… she was starting to like it too.

* * *

The swishing of leather shoes against the tiled floor broke the hushed silence that fell upon the hall as the dark-haired boy walked slowly towards the main door. The sound grew dimmer as he exited the building. A moment later, the scuffing of sneakers could be heard as the pigtailed woman followed suit and opened the door. She, too, left the building, and her footsteps faded away as she went down the steps. The door closed behind her, the lock clicked into place, and finally, the hallway near the building's main entrance grew silent. 

Then, as if it had been waiting for its cue all along, as if it had been waiting for this right moment when the hall would finally be empty, the tapping sound of a woman's high heels against the floor rose from around the corner of the hall. The owner of those heels walked away with careful, deliberate steps, and the clicking sound echoed in the deserted hallway. It was soft and slow at first, as if it was hesitant and unwilling to be heard, until it gradually became faster and louder as the pace of the owner's gait increased with urgency. The footsteps could now be heard pattering across the floor rhythmically as the owner broke into a run. The heels squeaked at every sharp turn made along the route being taken and skidded to a stop only at the door of the owner's destination.

As she slung her purse over her shoulder, Kikuno was just about to leave the clinic when she jumped in surprise as the door burst open with a bang and rattled the containers inside the medicine cabinet hung along the wall beside the door. She gaped at the person revealed standing at the entrance, breathless and exhausted from running. But it wasn't the disheveled form of the normally poised and fashionable young woman before her that caught Kikuno's attention. It was the uncharacteristic seriousness etched upon that person's features that made Kikuno drop her purse on her table in alarm.

"Fujiyama-sensei!" she exclaimed as she hurriedly moved towards the English teacher. "What are you doing here?"

Shizuka was silent, her face pale.

Medical instincts kicking in, the school nurse stepped forward and laid a hand on her unannounced visitor's forehead as she checked the body temperature. "Are you alright?" Kikuno asked as her brows creased worriedly. "Did something happen, Shizuka-chan?"

Instead of answering, the English teacher stepped inside without waiting to be invited in and turned around to reach for the doorknob. She craned her neck to look out towards both ends of the hall before she closed the door.

The clicking of the doorknob sounded slightly ominous, at least to Kikuno. A feeling of dread started to wash over her at the way Shizuka checked for other people in the vicinity, as if the woman guarded a precious secret no one should know. And judging by the English teacher's unusual actions, Kikuno wasn't sure if she wanted to know what exactly that secret was.

"Kawashima-sensei."

Slowly, the Section 3-C adviser turned around, her grave eyes meeting the school nurse's stricken ones. "I think," she said hesitantly as her thoughts spun with disconcerting images of what she had just witnessed in the hallway near the building's main entrance. "There's something you need to know."

* * *

_End of chapter four_

* * *

**A/N: **Did Shin really think he could get away with it so easily? I think not. ;) 

**Important notes:**

1) I'm not sure if the custom of having school dances have been adapted or allowed in Japan. I only adapted that Western tradition for this story.

2) _Hanasho Gakuen _is a name I invented for the all-girls school participating in the dance. "_Hana_" means flower, "_sho"_ means many, and "_Gakuen_" means academy or campus. Taken literally, it means "a school of many flowers." I just thought the name seemed fit for an all-girls school. ;)

3) In this fic, Shirokin Gakuen's bulletin board is located _inside _the main building. One might notice that in the Gokusen drama, the bulletin board is posted _outside _of the building. I just changed the location for purposes of this story.

_Three things to watch out for in succeeding chapters:_

1)** Shin shouldn't be too confident about his rivalry with Shinohara.** As we all know, cockiness can sometimes lead to a person's downfall. And before all you ShinKumi fans kill me with those murderous glares of yours, remember, I'm a ShinKumi fan too you know. ;)

2)** That picture frame Shinohara keeps means something.** HINT: Shinohara's character here is based on the drama, so the picture frame is a clue on how I tweaked his character in this fic

3)** Looks like Fujiyama-sensei and Kawashima-sensei are now in the picture too.** Would that be a good thing or a bad thing, especially for Yankumi?

Don't get me wrong. I love Shin and Kumiko, whether separately as unique individuals or together as a couple. I guess I'm just making things a wee bit more… '_challenging' _for them in this fic. Yes, I know. I'm evil. Muahaha. ;)

- shirotora-san

**PS: **Btw, did you guys notice that '**ShinKumi´ **can mean not only _ShinxKumiko,_ but can also mean _ShinoharaxKumiko _as well? ;)

* * *

Japanese Glossary: 

**Kami **– God

**Mattaku – **said when expressing frustration or exasperation; usually uttered by males

**Taicho** - Captain


	5. Missing

**A/N:** The title of this chapter fits the story in more ways than one. Let's see if you can find out why. ;) Enjoy reading!

* * *

"**REWARD"**

A Gokusen Fanfiction

by shirotora-san

* * *

CHAPTER FIVE

_**Missing**_

The ringing of the warning bell prompted a steady, gradual flow of people streaming into the hallways of Shirokin Gakuen's main building as they waited for classes to begin that morning. The quiet corridors burst into life as the bustling activities of students and teachers alike filled the rooms with lively sounds of talk and laughter. Yet the sounds that rose out of the hubbub weren't riotous or unpleasant. In fact, the noise was rather comforting. Even if a total stranger were to walk in at that moment, he would surely feel immediately at ease. There was no feeling of tension, no trace of melancholy, no hint of anxiety. Even the usual air of hostility that hung around Shirokin students – who were known for their short tempers, fits of rage and occasional acts of violence – dissipated with that morning's carefree aura. Everyone seemed to be in a jovial mood at that particular moment. One of them, in fact, was in an exceptionally good mood that morning.

Kumiko hummed softly to herself as she made her way towards Section 3-D. Her feet felt strangely light as she half-skipped, half-pranced her way down the third floor hall. That idiotic ear-to-ear grin had been plastered on her face all morning, although she couldn't explain why she felt so unreasonably happy today. She wasn't sure what accounted for that, but she was determined not to let anything dampen her high spirits. She felt that nothing, absolutely _nothing_, could ruin her day.

Her pigtails bounced in the air as she added an extra spring to her step when she reached the door of Section 3-D's room. As she was about to open the door however, she suddenly frowned. She tilted her head to one side, as if she had just realized the oddity of her own temperament. Why _did _she feel so happy today? Could it have something to do with her encounter with Shinohara-san earlier this morning outside the main building? As well as the… _events _that followed after that?

The Section 3-D adviser suddenly blushed to the roots of her hair. She shook her head quickly to get rid of the memory, although she didn't really want to completely forget what happened. It had been quite an unanticipated event, and she was… _stunned,_ to say the least, when Shinohara-san did what he did – although she would have to admit that it delighted her a lot. And of all the people she had to experience it with, she was definitely glad it had to be with him. However, she knew that if she would keep on thinking back on that particular incident, she would most likely be distracted all day and she wouldn't get anything useful done. She pursed her lips in determination, and she shifted the papers she carried to hold them in one arm while she held her other arm out in front of her.

"Yamaguchi Kumiko, you are a respectable teacher of Shirokin High," she told herself out loud. "And you have no room for any kind of distraction. Your students need a teacher who pours all her mind and heart and soul into her work, and they deserve nothing less, right?" She nodded once to herself. "That's right! You are going to march into that room and be the inspiration your students need to prosper in this world!" Her glasses glinted as she punctuated that statement with a cry of, "Fight-o… O!"

And with that, the door burst open as she bounded inside Section 3-D unannounced, effectively halting all activity inside the room as the boys stared at their teacher in complete surprise.

"Good morning, everyone!" Kumiko sang out, throwing her arms wide. "It's such a beautiful morning!"

"Ugh," was Uchi's greeting. His face suddenly scrunched up, as if he smelled something foul. "Yankumi's in a good mood today. Watch out, you guys, this isn't a good sign," he announced to the class.

Kumiko blinked and dropped her arms to her sides. "What are you saying, Uchiyama?"

Minami rolled his eyes. "C'mon Yankumi, we know how you are. Whenever you're _extraordinarily _happy, it could only mean one of two things: either it's because you've just managed to get us _out _of trouble again… _or,_" he smirked at her. "You've just succeeded in somehow manipulating us into taking part on another one of your twisted schemes."

"And since we're actually innocent this time," Noda added as he gestured at his classmates around the room. "It could only mean _you're _up to something again, something that would most likely get us all _into _trouble."

The rest of the class nodded solemnly in agreement.

Kumiko placed her hands on her hips indignantly. "Hey! Can't I be happy for absolutely no reason at all?"

The boys all looked at each other. Then they looked at her. And they all raised their eyebrows.

"Mou," Kumiko huffed. "Paranoid little pessimists," she muttered under her breath.

The last warning bell rang at that precise moment. Kumiko closed the door and made her way towards her desk in front of the classroom as her students settled back into their seats. Murmurs and subdued noises rose in the room as the boys went back to whatever activity they had been occupied with before they were surprised by the sight of their teacher leaping into the room like some wannabe ballerina. Kumiko's desk wobbled slightly as she dropped her things unceremoniously upon it, and her eyes fell upon her record book sitting atop the pile of papers.

Briefly she considered checking the attendance, but when she looked up at her students and saw the sloppy, sluggish image they made, she shook her head. They never pay attention to her each time she tries doing a roll call anyway; she doubted today would be an exception. She leafed through the papers on her desk until she came upon the flyer Kyoto gave her yesterday afternoon. It was supposed to be a reminder sheet of some sort, and he distributed a copy to each teacher during the faculty meeting. He gave specific instructions that its contents should be written on the board of each classroom the following morning during homeroom.

Kumiko raised an eyebrow as she peered once more at her delinquent students. The boys of Section 3-D hardly take note of _anything_ written on the board, except perhaps if it was something Fujiyama-sensei wrote. She glanced at the sheet of paper in her hand. Writing these reminders seems like such a waste of time. She pulled back the sleeve of her tracksuit and stared at her wristwatch. It would still be quite sometime before the next bell will ring.

With a loud, frustrated sigh, Kumiko surrendered herself to the inevitable. She picked up a chalk and started to write on the board. _It's better than yelling myself hoarse trying to get them to listen to me anyway, _she thought to herself wryly.

It first started to bother her when she was copying the second item from the reminder sheet. She simply shook the feeling off and dismissed it as nothing more than an outcome of stress or fatigue. However, as she was writing the fourth and fifth item on the board, the hairs on the back of her neck started to prickle uncomfortably and an uneasy sensation began to creep over her. By the time she got to the middle part of the list, she couldn't ignore any longer what her senses were trying to tell her.

_Something's wrong._

The hand that was holding the chalk curled into a fist. Slowly, she let that hand drop to her side as she closed her eyes. Little by little, the sounds of the room became muted as she focused her attention on what she was feeling. Years of training in battle sharpened her ability to detect ki, and using that skill she let her finely attuned senses stretch out into every corner and recesses of the classroom. Her brows furrowed. She could distinguish each familiar ki of her students, and from what she could make of it they seem fine, physically and emotionally. That reassured her a little. Still, she was feeling something… _different_.

She bit her lip as she concentrated even harder, but she couldn't detect anything that might pose a threat. What was wrong? What was… missing?

And then it hit her. Every sight and sound came rushing back to her as she spun around and saw what her senses had been trying to tell her from the moment she stepped into the room. Her eyes widened as her gaze fell upon the empty chair at the very back of the classroom.

_Sawada's missing._

Her heart skipped a beat at that realization.

"Oi Yankumi," Uchi piped up when his homeroom adviser stood there unmoving for a long time. "What are you staring at?"

Kumiko gave a surprised start, shaken out of her stupor. She blinked at Uchi twice before she was able to stammer out, "W-Where's Sawada?"

His eyes traveled over lazily towards the back of the classroom. "He's not here," Uchi replied.

Kumiko resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I can see that. Do you know where he is?"

Uchi shrugged and leaned back on his chair as he placed his hands behind his head. "Nope."

Kumiko's eyes widened. "Then we've got to find him!" she exclaimed as she quickly headed for the door.

"Whoa, wait a second there, Yankumi!" Minami stood up to intervene as his teacher looked ready to burst out of the room. He blocked her path on her way out the door. "What are you so worked up about?"

Aghast, Kumiko stared at him. "Aren't you worried? Sawada might be in trouble!"

"Or he's just late," Noda interjected as he moved to stand beside Minami. "Don't you think you're overreacting a bit?" He crossed his arms over his chest and smirked at her.

"Yeah, Yankumi, what has gotten into you?" Uchi spoke up.

Kumiko blinked as her students all stopped to stare at her. What _has _gotten into her? Why was she so worried over Sawada, whom she just remembered wasn't the most punctual person in the world?

"W-Well," she tried to argue. "He hasn't come to class late for a long time…"

Uchi raised an eyebrow. "So now you think he'd never be late again?"

His teacher couldn't think of a reply to that.

Noda chuckled as he shook his head. "The sleepyhead probably just overslept this morning," he reasoned.

Kumiko jumped slightly when Minami clapped a hand on her shoulder. "Ease up, Yankumi," he said. "Shin's a big boy. He can take care of himself." He patted her shoulder one last time before he and Noda headed back to their seats.

"And for your sake Yankumi," added Uchi. "_Relax_. You're being too jumpy today."

Noda laughed. "And you're acting like an overprotective mother to Shin."

_Great_, thought Kumiko. _I evolved from being his teacher to being his mother. _For some strange reason, the thought really displeased her. "You're probably right… maybe I _am _overreacting." Her eyes suddenly narrowed at her students. "But if you're wrong, and if I find out that Sawada caused _any _kind of trouble, you're _all_ going to clean the toilets tomorrow!" she threatened.

Minami sighed. "Look Yankumi, if it'll make you feel better, I'll call him, alright?" And before his teacher could protest that calls are prohibited during class hours, he flipped out his cell phone and dialed. He then held up the receiver to his ear and waited.

And waited.

And _waited._

"That's odd," he said after a while. He frowned. "Shin isn't answering his phone."

Kumiko felt her stomach churn at that statement. Why did she have such a bad feeling about this?

"I know what you're going to say," Noda interrupted her when she opened her mouth to say something. "Yankumi, I'm pretty sure Shin's okay. His phone's probably just on silent mode."

"But don't you find it strange that he isn't answering his phone?" Kumiko pressed.

"Not really," Kuma spoke up. "His phone's off most of the time anyway."

Surprised, Kumiko blinked at him. "Really?"

Noda grinned at that. "Actually, Kuma's right. Shin usually turns his phone off to avoid receiving calls from girls."

"Girls?" Kumiko repeated.

"Yeah," said Minami. "Shin's got quite a lot of admirers… stalkers even. It's a wonder how those girls even get his number in the first place." He shook his head. "Lucky dog. He has girls chasing _after _him and he doesn't pay attention to any of them!"

This interesting tidbit of information distracted her from her unexplainable worries for a moment. Thoroughly intrigued, Kumiko inquired, "How come?"

Uchi exhaled loudly. "Shin's just not interested in girls," he said as he shook his head.

"Though that's not exactly true," said Kuma thoughtfully as he cocked his head to one side. "Because he told me one time that he already found the girl he's going to pursue."

_That _unexpected statement made his classmates turn in their seats to look at him. They all exclaimed in unison, "Who?"

Kuma blinked. "Well…" he started to say.

At that, Kumiko involuntarily took a step backwards.

'_Don't talk about something that would never happen…'_

Her eyes widened.

'…_because I wouldn't let it happen.'_

"Who is it, Kuma?" Noda's voice broke through her thoughts. "Tell us!"

"And how come _you _know about this girl?" Minami asked suddenly.

"Especially since _we_ don't!" added Uchi.

"What are you guys ganging up on _me _for?" Kuma exclaimed. "I don't know who she is either!"

He was met with blank stares.

"But you just said Shin told you he likes this girl!" Uchi burst out.

"Well yeah," said Kuma. "But he didn't tell me who she _was_."

And for some reason, Kumiko felt immensely relieved when the bell finally rang. She felt like she had to get out of there fast. She wasn't sure why, but she felt guilty all of a sudden.

The classroom burst into activity once more, this time accompanied with speculative talk of who Shin's mystery girl is. Kumiko rolled her eyes. _I now have proof that no one, not even boys, can resist the lure of intrigue_, she thought wryly. She gathered her things on the desk and moved to exit the room. As she reached the door however, her gaze unwittingly went over to the chair sitting at the back of the room.

It was still empty.

Kumiko shook her head as she stepped out of Section 3-D. _Sawada you idiot_, she thought as she slammed the door shut. _Where the hell are you?_

* * *

"Hey ice queen."

Kikuno looked up from the papers she was poring over and frowned. "I'm not in the mood, Fujiyama-sensei."

Shizuka raised an eyebrow as she closed the door to the clinic. "My, _somebody_ woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," she commented dryly. She sat down beside the school nurse and promptly told her, "Spill it, woman. What is _wrong_ with you today?"

Kikuno chose to ignore the English teacher for a few more moments as she shuffled the papers in her hands. When Shizuka's unmoving stance made it clear that she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, Kikuno slammed her papers down on the table and met the teacher's reproachful gaze evenly with an icy glare of her own.

"It's Yamaguchi-sensei."

Shizuka narrowed her eyes at the school nurse's clipped tone. She already figured as such. Kikuno had given Yamaguchi-sensei the cold shoulder all morning, and had even blatantly refused to sit with her during lunchtime. The older woman had coolly left the teacher's lounge without another word. The confused and slightly hurt expression on Kumiko's face that time had been the last straw. Shizuka had quickly excused herself from the table and followed the nurse to her clinic, determined to demand an explanation for the nurse's unreasonable actions.

"I think you already made it pretty clear that Yamaguchi-sensei was the source of your troubles this morning." The Section 3-C adviser folded her arms over her chest. "What I want to know is _why._"

The nurse visibly stiffened at that statement. As she pressed her lips together, Kikuno gathered all the papers into her arms and abruptly stood up. She walked over to the filing cabinet and brusquely yanked a drawer open. She then proceeded to stuff her papers one by one into the folders inside the drawer with such force that Shizuka was amazed the papers didn't tear. When she was done, Kikuno loudly slammed the drawer shut, and it nearly made the English teacher jump from her seat in surprise.

"Fujiyama-sensei."

The protest Shizuka was about to say died on her lips. She had never heard the nurse sound so serious.

Eyes narrowing, the Section 3-C adviser watched the older woman quietly. Her back was facing Shizuka and her hand was clutching the handle of the drawer. Neither woman spoke for a long time. Just when Shizuka thought she couldn't bear the silence any longer, Kikuno spoke once more.

"You saw her yesterday, right? With Sawada."

Shizuka raised her eyebrows. _That _was what made the nurse act up this morning? The English teacher frowned. Admittedly, the scene she had witnessed between the math teacher and her young student was highly unsettling, but she never expected it to bother Kikuno _this _much. "Kawashima-sensei, that was—"

"I saw her this morning. This time, with Shinohara-san."

The Section 3-C adviser blinked at the mention of the officer's name. She noted how Kikuno's knuckles were turning white from gripping the drawer's handle too tightly. Confused, she slowly stood up as she eyed the nurse's taut form. The three of them – Yamaguchi-sensei, Kawashima-sensei, and herself - had long been engaged in a friendly competition over who would win Shinohara's affection. Even so, they held no grudges against each other. In fact, the rivalry had even somehow fueled their camaraderie. Aside from the competitive moments when they try to outdo each other, they didn't have any problems with each other. She couldn't understand how the fine-looking policeman fits into all this, unless…

"Kikuno-chan… are you jealous?"

The nurse didn't answer.

Shizuka's brows furrowed. "I understand completely if you are, but that isn't enough reason to—"

"_That's not the point, Fujiyama-sensei!"_

The overwhelming outburst effectively shocked Shizuka into silence.

Kikuno took a deep, calming breath. "That's not the point," she repeated softly. Her rigid countenance suddenly sagged as her shoulders slumped and she let her hand fall to her side. "Fujiyama-sensei." Weariness had crept into her voice. "The point is, something happened – or is happening – between Yamaguchi-sensei and Sawada. You and I both know that now."

Shizuka felt like her head was going to burst from thinking too much. "I'm not a stupid woman, but I sure feel like one right now," she muttered under her breath. "I'm sorry Kawashima-sensei," she told the nurse. "But I don't understand. What does Sawada have to do with all this?"

Kikuno turned around to face the English teacher fully. At the nurse's meaningful look, Shizuka's eyes widened. "Kawashima-sensei… what exactly occurred between Shinohara-san and Yamaguchi-sensei this morning?"

Her face impassive, her tone grim, Kikuno told Shizuka what she saw.

The English teacher let herself fall back on her chair. She didn't trust her legs to support her after she heard what Kikuno had to say.

"So what do we do now?" Shizuka finally asked after a long moment of silence.

Kikuno sighed as she sat down beside the younger woman. "I don't know," she answered honestly. She gazed out the window to the main entrance where it all happened. "I'm not sure what to make of what I saw. I'm not sure what to make of what _you _saw either," she murmured. "However, there's one thing I'm sure of."

Shizuka looked at her. "What?"

"Someone… is going to get hurt."

It was that statement that made both women realize the true gravity of the situation.

"Kawashima-sensei," Shizuka said after a while. "Remember the time when Noda nearly got me fired?"

Kikuno turned to the English teacher in surprise. Why did she remember that all of a sudden?

"I couldn't believe Yamaguchi-sensei actually volunteered to teach after-class tutorial sessions in English." Shizuka chuckled as she shook her head. "She hadn't exactly been the best teacher suited for the job. Sawada was more fluent in English than she was, and he's her student." Her expression softened as she gazed out the window. "Do you remember, Kawashima-sensei, what you told me then?"

"Fujiyama-sensei…"

Shizuka turned to look at Kikuno. "You told me it was wrong of me to ever doubt her. And you told me to trust her because she knows what she's doing." She smiled. "It took me some time. But eventually… I _did _learn to trust her. Because I knew she was doing the right thing."

Kikuno hung her head. Her hands balled into fists in her lap and she bit her lip as she let Shizuka's words sink in. "That's the problem, Fujiyama-sensei," she said quietly. "If she'll do the right thing, which I know she will… this time… _she's _the one who's gonna end up hurt."

Shizuka was startled when the nurse suddenly jumped to her feet and started pacing the room agitatedly. "She's just too damn righteous about everything!" Kikuno burst out as she threw her hands in the air. "The girl's too naïve and too stubborn and too _stupid_ that she'll do _the right thing _again and she'll end up hurting herself in the process!" She stopped to take a deep breath and leaned her back against the filing cabinet. "Idiot. Yamaguchi-sensei's an _idiot._"

Shizuka watched as Kikuno let her face fall into her hands, her whole frame trembling as she sighed. At last, it all became clear, and she finally understood the reason behind the nurse's actions this morning. She walked over to where Kikuno was and gently laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey," said Shizuka softly. "I'm worried about her too."

Kikuno raised her head and met Shizuka's eyes. "I just don't want her to get hurt."

"She won't," said Shizuka. "That's what we're here for, anyway. We're older, wiser… not to mention sexier than she is." That prompted a watery laugh from the distraught nurse. "If she does something stupid, we'll be there to fix it up, right?"

For the first time that day, Kikuno smiled. "Hai."

The bell rang at that moment.

"Oops, lunch is over," said Shizuka as she moved to leave. "I guess I'd better go. I still have a class." As she reached the door however, she paused and looked back over her shoulder. "Hey… Kikuno-chan?"

The nurse looked at her.

"If you really don't want Kumiko-chan to get hurt," said the English teacher. "Try being less of an ice queen."

Kikuno chuckled tiredly. "I will. And I'm sorry."

With a wry grin, Shizuka opened the door and stepped out. "Oh and… ice queen?"

"Yeah?"

The Section 3-C adviser smiled. "You're a good friend," she said softly before she closed the door behind her.

Alone in the clinic, Kikuno was now left to ponder over everything that had happened. She remembered the words she herself had said to Shizuka not so long ago. And she wanted to believe those words. She wanted to trust Kumiko, to believe that the Section 3-D adviser would do the right thing. Kumiko always did, anyway. However, everything Kumiko had been doing… it had always been for her students. Everything else that had happened before, it had all been a matter of responsibility, of morality, of facing fears, of doing what is right. Those times had been difficult for the Section 3-D adviser, but amazingly, she had been able to overcome them all.

This time, Kikuno had a feeling that it's not going to be as easy. Everything is different now. There's more at stake, more than matters of duty or righteousness.

Now… it's about matters of the heart.

And as she stared broodingly out the window, Kikuno prayed that the Section 3-D adviser would do the right thing… _for herself._

* * *

"I see…" Kumiko murmured.

The man behind the counter bowed apologetically. "I'm sorry I couldn't be of much help, sensei."

Kumiko smiled. "No, you were a _big_ help," she told him reassuringly. "I guess I better go then. Thank you very much for your time." She bowed in return and turned to leave.

"Sensei?"

Kumiko stopped in her tracks to look back at him inquiringly. "Hai?"

He smiled at her. "Don't worry too much. I'm sure he's okay."

Kumiko sighed. If she had a yen for every time she heard that statement today, she'd be able to buy a whole set of Nakamura Ken's movies. Perhaps she _was _worrying a bit too much, but she couldn't help it. "Will you tell me when you receive any news about him?"

He nodded. "I will."

Kumiko smiled and bowed once more. "Thank you," she said before she walked out of the building.

_So he's not home either,_ was her dismayed thought as she reached the sidewalk. It was already late afternoon, and she had spent most of the day going from place to place looking for Shin. His apartment had been her last stop. The receptionist at the lobby had told her that Shin had left his suite early this morning. He thought the teenager went to school because Shin had been wearing his uniform when he left. Kumiko's already knotted stomach gave another painful twist. Shin didn't show up at Shirokin High the whole day, and he wasn't answering any calls on his cell phone. The receptionist also said that Shin hadn't been back since then, but that it was normal for the young boy to be out this late, especially since he's usually with his friends during this time of the day.

Kumiko abruptly stopped walking as a thought occurred to her. Quickly, she fished out her mobile phone from her shoulder bag and dialed. She held the receiver up to her ear. Her foot tapped restlessly against the cement as she waited for the ringing to stop.

Finally, he answered. "Damn it, Yankumi! You just ruined what could have been a perfect strike! Why did you have to call during _my_ turn, huh?"

"Hi, Minami," Kumiko calmly replied. From what she could make out of the sounds she was hearing through the phone, her student seemed to be in the bowling alley again. She could also hear the voices of Noda, Uchi and Kuma in the background. "Is Sawada there with you?"

"No, he isn't."

Kumiko felt another knot form in her stomach. She's bound to have indigestion at this rate. "And you haven't seen him all day? Or heard from him at least?"

She heard Minami sigh in exasperation. "Yankumi, stop worrying. Shin's with Natsumi."

The knots suddenly straightened. "What?"

"We called Natsumi up when Shin didn't show up today," Minami explained.

Kumiko suppressed a smile at that. So they _were _worried about him too. "And what did she say?"

"She told us that he had been with her all day and he just forgot to tell us."

Kumiko didn't know whether to feel relieved at the news or to punch Shin the next time she sees him for driving her crazy with worry.

"Oi Yankumi! You still there?"

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Yeah, yeah, I'm still here. So he's okay then?"

"I guess," said Minami. "Natsumi told us not to worry anyway. Maybe she just needed her brother's help or something."

Her brows furrowed at that. "What kind of help?"

"I dunno, a family emergency?" Minami scoffed. "Jeez Yankumi, you pry into the boy's life too much! Are you his girlfriend or something?"

"Of course not!" she answered a bit too quickly. "I'm his _teacher, _not his… his _girlfriend_!"

Minami snickered. "Well, you sure are acting like one."

Kumiko was glad he couldn't see the blush that suddenly suffused her cheeks. "I was just worried," she mumbled.

"Yankumi. _Shin's okay. _Alright? Now would you _please _let me finish this game in peace?"

Kumiko sighed. "And how's the game going anyway?"

"Just fine, until you called and messed up my winning strike," Minami retorted.

Kumiko pursed her lips. "Make sure you guys don't stay out too long, 'coz if you come to class late tomorrow, you'll—"

"—clean the toilets," Minami finished for her. "Yeah, yeah. Later then." The line went dead.

A myriad of different emotions coursed through Kumiko as she replaced her phone in her bag. She knew she should feel relieved after that phone call. However, she was feeling something… _different. _A raw, unknown emotion suddenly surfaced – a feeling so strong she was surprised at how caught she was in its intensity.

Sawada wasn't missing after all.

But she was missing him.

* * *

"And what did you tell them?"

"What you told me to."

"And they didn't suspect anything?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line. "_Should _they suspect anything?"

He sighed. "No… I just don't want them to worry."

"…Will you tell me?"

This time, he was the one who hesitated to speak. "Yes," he said finally. He knew he couldn't lie to her. Never to her. "Just… not right now."

A long pause.

"Are you mad?" he gently asked her.

A sigh. "No. Do I have a reason to be?"

"You know I wouldn't ask you to do this for me if it isn't important."

"I know. And I trust you. Just… take care of yourself, okay? I'm worried about you."

He had to smile at that. "You have better things to do in life than worry about me."

"And you have better things to do in life than _make _me worry about you."

"…I'm sorry."

"And stop apologizing. You didn't do anything wrong." He suddenly heard scuffles at the other end of the line. "Hey, I gotta go. Otou-sama's home."

"Okay. You take care too, all right?"

"All right. Bye."

"Hey… Natsumi?"

"Yeah?"

"…Thank you."

He could almost hear her smile. "Anytime, Onii-chan."

She hung up. He flipped his cell phone close and blew his bangs out of his eyes. Now that their conversation had ended and he was now left in solitary silence, the happiness he had felt at hearing his sister's voice slowly ebbed away, and was once again replaced by the lonesome feeling that had been plaguing him ever since he came to Shirokin Gakuen this morning. And as much as his pride simply wouldn't allow him to wallow in self-pity, it seemed that it was all his heart wanted to do.

He heaved a huge sigh. It wasn't like him to be this melodramatic. Then again, he had done a lot of things he never would have imagined doing before… ever since that teacher of his came to his school.

He groaned. He was thinking of _her _again.

_Stop it, Shin,_ he told himself ruefully. _Stop torturing yourself like this. _

He flopped onto his back and leaned his head against his hands as he let his gaze wander over to the heavens above him. The cerulean sky was tinged with swirls of purple, auburn and gold, and the sun glowed a fiery red-orange as it started to set beneath the horizon. A small smile played on his lips. Red had always been her favorite color.

He sat up abruptly. "Damn it," he cursed under his breath. Why did _everything_ start to remind him of _her_?

It was the reason why he came out here in the first place. He wanted to be as far away from her as possible. He didn't want to see her dorky face or hear her irritatingly cheerful voice; he didn't want to be pestered with her incessant chatter or be disturbed by how she seemed to have more testosterone in her hormones than most men; he didn't want be reminded of how good she smelled or how wonderful she felt in his arms or how sweet her lips had tasted; he didn't want to remember that it was her smile that lights up his world and makes his day complete.

He didn't want to see, hear, smell, touch or taste _anything _that has to do with her, not after what he'd seen this morning. It would be too… painful.

He just wanted to forget her. That was why he came here.

Yet it was also during times like these when he was alone that he was plagued with nothing but thoughts of her.

He moaned softly as he let his face fall into his hands. "Yankumi, you idiot. What are you doing to me?"

He suddenly wished fervently that he didn't go to Shirokin Gakuen this morning. Then he wouldn't have been forced to witness what he never wanted to see in his life; he wouldn't have heard the words she uttered which he never thought would be said to anyone else. He had been too confident, too proud, and he paid the price brutally. He knew that the image would haunt him even in his dreams, mocking him, taunting him.

Even as he thought about it now, he was filled with an overwhelming desire to destroy something. He couldn't describe what he was feeling just then. He was mad, he was horrified, he was furious, he was humiliated; and at the same time, he felt utterly foolish for letting himself be swept by those feelings. He was usually the epitome of calm and control; he never lets his emotions get the better of him.

But what he saw this morning… that was what broke his reserve.

And so he had walked away from it all – he would have ran, but he had been in such a state of shock that his feet didn't want to obey his commands – and he found himself seeking refuge once more at this place.

He ran his hands over the ground he was sitting on. The grass felt soft and dewy beneath his fingers. The trickling sound of the river in front of him mingled with the rustling of the leaves of the numerous trees that hid him from view. It was nearly evening; the temperature dropped a few notches lower and he pulled his jacket closer around him when a cold breeze suddenly blew.

No one else knew about this place, not even Natsumi. When he was little and he was still living with his family, he used to call this his own "secret hideaway." Whenever things with his father were heating up too much, this was where he went to cool off. He stood up and surveyed his surroundings with a wistful smile. He hadn't come here in a long while. He didn't have any reason to, not when he found his rightful place at Shirokin High, in Section 3-D, with her as their teacher. She had driven away all the reasons why he used to come here. And yet… she was also the one who gave him a whole new reason to return.

He sighed. Such were the annoying ironies of his life.

He leaned against a tree trunk and closed his eyes. Natsumi's voice thrummed in his head as he thought back to their conversation earlier.

'_They called. Just like you said.'_

He smiled. He knew that his absence wouldn't go unnoticed by his friends. They knew that he wouldn't just simply disappear without a reason, and he knew that they wouldn't stop until they find out what exactly that reason was. It was something that both touched and exasperated him. They cared about him too much to leave him alone. Whatever happens, they will always meddle in his life whether or not he wants them to. That's why as much as it sickened him to trick his friends, he had to think of a way to escape from their good-natured fussing, even for a short while. It wasn't because he didn't trust them. He just couldn't answer any of their questions right now, not when he himself is in such a messed up state of mind with his emotions all in turmoil. He knew that in his present condition, he'd probably just lash out at them, and he felt that his friends deserve much better than his unwarranted mood swings.

His smile turned into a wry grin. Well, he wasn't called the genius of Section 3-D for nothing. He knew that if he didn't show up at school the whole day, his friends would get suspicious and they'd start looking for him in places where he usually hangs out. And he also knew that if they still didn't find him then, their suspicions would turn into worry and they'd start to ask people who knew him if they had seen him. And since none of their classmates and teachers knew where he was anyway, he knew that there was only one person left for them to approach.

Natsumi.

He knew that _they_ knew that _she_ was the only person he had ever considered his family. Sooner or later they'd go to her if they still weren't able to find him. He didn't want to drag his sister into all this because he cared for her too much to trouble her. He didn't want her to worry about anything, especially over him. So in order to stop both his friends _and _his sister from fussing over him, he called Natsumi up and told her that if ever Minami and the others approach or call her, she must tell them that he was with her.

Puzzled, Natsumi had asked him why. He had already prepared an answer to that. He told her that he had something important to do and that he just didn't want his friends to worry about him. She then asked him why he couldn't just tell them that himself. He told her that it was a surprise his friends shouldn't know anything about – and somehow, it was as close to the truth as he could possibly reveal. And he also knew that if it came directly from him, his friends would just pester him about it the next day. If it came from his sister, it would seem like some sort of family emergency and his friends would likely back off at that. They never meddle when it comes to family affairs.

Natsumi had readily accepted his answer. She knew better than to pry; she didn't ask him where he was or what it was he had to attend to. The only thing she asked him in return was that he should promise to stay out of trouble. After he assured her that he'll keep his promise and she was convinced that everything was fine with him, she did what he told her to. No further questions asked. He had his little sister's one hundred percent trust.

As he thought about it now, he still felt guilty about what he did. At least he didn't have to lie to her. He just didn't exactly tell her the whole truth. He didn't tell her that he simply wanted to be alone.

'_Minami-kun said that Yamaguchi-sensei was sick with worry over you. He even joked that she seemed willing to turn the town upside down just to find you.'_

He opened his eyes and sighed. He wished Natsumi didn't tell him that. Something inside of him leapt with joy at the thought that his teacher was _that _much worried over him. In fact, he was pleasantly surprised to see that most of the registered missed calls on his cell phone were from _her._ At any other time, he would have been elated to know that perhaps his presence was just as important to her as hers was to him; that perhaps was thinking of him as often as he thought of her; that perhaps she couldn't bear to be away from him any longer than he could from her.

At any other time, that alone would have been enough to make him happy.

But not today. Not after this morning. Now, his teacher's actions were only hurting him all the more.

Pain and anger mingling and heightening to an unbearable degree, he let out a frustrated shout and punched the tree he was leaning on with all his might. The force reverberated from his fist through his arm and all the way to his shoulder and the rest of his upper body. And he still wasn't satisfied. With a growl, he pushed his fist even further and let the rough bark dig onto his skin before he pulled his hand back abruptly.

The pristine green grass beneath his feet was now marred with splotches of red as blood dripped from his trembling fist. As he tried to control his ragged breathing, he slowly became aware of acute pains all over his body; his throbbing fist, the sting in his eyes that was blurring his vision, the lump that suddenly formed in his throat.

He smiled humorlessly. Those pains were nothing, _nothing_ compared to the ache he was feeling in his heart.

He knew he was acting so stupidly now. And he didn't give a damn. He had done a lot of stupid things in his life anyway. One of them… was falling for _her._

And the worst part of all was that he actually dared to hope that she'd fall for him as well.

Even though he knew that she had already fallen for someone else, he thought – he _believed _– that he still might have a fighting chance as long as _that man_ didn't return her affections. But as he found out this morning, it seemed that he had not even begun to fight when he already lost.

In her eyes, _that man _is all she'd ever see. And he knew that as for himself, he would be nothing more than her student.

He understood that now. And he accepted his defeat.

…so why did it have to hurt so much?

* * *

_End of chapter five_

**A/N: **(Backs off from all the death glares and pointy knives) Easy now, people! This is a Shinkumi fic, I swear! Ahhhh!! (runs away as the knives are thrown)

Hey if you all kill me now, you wouldn't find out what would happen to our dear Shin and Yankumi in the end, right? Everything happened for a purpose. You'll see. ;)

The root word of "missing" is "miss." According to wordnet, these are some of the meanings of the word **miss**:

- fail to attend an event or activity; "I missed the concert"; "He missed school for a week"

- be without; "There is something missing in my jewelry box!'

- be absent; "The child had been missing for a week"

- fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind; "I missed that remark"; "She missed his point"; "We missed part of what he said"

- feel or suffer from the lack of; "He misses his mother"

Also, some of you might argue that some of the characters seem OOC in this chapter. Hmm, maybe so… but perhaps they wouldn't seem so out of character when the truth about what _really _happened that morning would finally be revealed. But that wouldn't be for the next few chapters or so. ;)

- shirotora-san

* * *

Japanese glossary:

**Onii** – older brother

**Otou** – father

Japanese honorifics:

**-sama** – suffix added to a name to connote the highest form of formality. Profession wise, it may even mean "Master" or "Lord." Usually, the one being addressed is the speaker's superior in terms of profession or rank, though this isn't always the case. Sometimes the speaker simply acknowledges that he is inferior to the one he is addressing.


	6. Shin

**A/N:** This chapter turned out to be quite longer than I expected. Gah. I hope you guys don't get bored halfway through.

The start of this chapter takes place during the night Shin went missing. :) Enjoy reading!

* * *

"**REWARD"**

A Gokusen Fanfiction

by shirotora-san

* * *

CHAPTER SIX

_**Shin**_

"The moon is bright tonight."

The familiar tone of that smooth, deep baritone broke through her thoughts. She blinked distractedly and turned her head towards the source of the sound. "Hmm?"

He stepped out of the shadows, his hands clasped neatly behind his back. Moonlight bathed his features in a serene glow, and it illuminated his tuft of gray hair and the fine lines on his kind face. It made him seem older and wiser than ever; an effigy of great authority and power toned with tenderness and warmth.

She watched in mild surprise as he walked towards her. She didn't expect anyone to still be awake at this hour. It was already late in the evening, and nearly all the lights in the area were out save for a few street lamps and a flicker of light here and there in the windows of several homes. Briefly, she wondered what the people inside those houses were doing this late at night, if they were being plagued by the same confusing thoughts and feelings that were making sleep her elusive captor.

He stopped a few steps away from her. "It's going to be a full moon in a few days," he observed musingly as gazed at the heavens. "That's why the nights are so beautiful lately."

Kumiko smiled. "Hai," she agreed as she followed his gaze. The silver-blue globe hanging amidst the vast, velvet sky illuminated the stark night with a subtly comforting glow, and around it, little pinpricks of light broke through the darkness as the stars twinkled merrily down at them. "It seems almost magical, doesn't it, Ojii-san?"

When her grandfather didn't reply, Kumiko turned to look at him questioningly and caught him watching her with a wistful smile on his face. She tilted her head to one side. "What is it?"

Kuroda chuckled and shook his head. "It's nothing," he said as he moved to sit down beside her. "It's just that… I suddenly remembered your mother."

Kumiko stared at him in surprise. "Okaa-san?"

"Yes," he answered. Kumiko watched him curiously as she shifted her position on the porch to make room for him beside her. "Yuriko had always loved nights like these. We used to come out here to watch the moon together, before…"

Kumiko looked away as her grandfather trailed off. She didn't need to hear the rest. She knew what he was trying to say. And she knew why he stopped himself from saying it out loud.

…_before your father took her away from me._

An awkward silence followed. Kuroda cleared his throat. This wasn't the reason he came out here to talk to her. No… it was about something else. "Kumiko?"

"Yes, Ojii-san?"

He looked at his granddaughter straight in the eye and asked, "It's not the moon you're thinking about right now, is it?"

The unexpected question caught her completely off guard. Kumiko stared wide-eyed at her grandfather as her mouth opened and closed wordlessly. He smirked at her knowingly, and she dropped her gaze quickly, guiltily.

Kuroda slowly looked away to let his granddaughter recover from her surprise. The corners of his mouth twitched into a small smile. It wouldn't be long now.

_Three… two… one…_

"Ojii-san? I have something to ask you."

…_Bingo._ The yakuza boss schooled his features into a look of seriousness before he turned back to his granddaughter. "What is it?"

She didn't answer at once. Kuroda watched her as she bit her lip and twisted her hands nervously in her lap. He raised his eyebrows amusingly. Whatever it was that kept her outside _this _long must be really bothering her. He crossed his arms over his chest and settled himself comfortably against a post as he thought back to the events that happened earlier that evening.

From the moment Kumiko had arrived home, appallingly late for dinner, he had already sensed that something was wrong. The other men of the household noticed it too. When she stepped into the dining room, Tetsu took one look at his Ojou's disheveled form and immediately started fussing over her. Kuroda watched his granddaughter with narrowed eyes as she tried to wave Tetsu's unwarranted worries away. Slowly, discreetly, he lowered the cup of sake he had been drinking and scanned her ki, something he could do well even at a distance. He couldn't detect any sort of injury on her, which meant that at least his troublesome granddaughter hadn't been involved again in those street fights she was terribly prone to get into. Although as Kumichou of their clan he knew without a doubt that Kumiko was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, as her grandfather he couldn't help but be worried about her still, especially since their family has many enemies even Kumiko doesn't know about. It was every grandfather's instinct to protect his grandchildren, which was why he was immensely relieved to find that at least on the physical level, Kumiko was perfectly all right.

However, he had been able to detect something else in her ki. His eyes had narrowed further at what he felt next. Her emotional aura was… _disturbed_. Very, _very _disturbed.

He raised his eyebrows then. The tension her emotional aura was giving off was something akin to a champagne bottle being shook, with the cork covering the bottle's opening about to fly off any minute. As she greeted him solemnly and moved to join him at the dinner table, he couldn't help but notice how she was carefully avoiding his eyes. He watched her as she silently finished her meal and quickly excused herself from the table. She then sat down at the porch and stared unseeingly into the night sky, lost in her own world of muddled thoughts and jumbled feelings.

After he carefully masked his aura so she wouldn't be able to detect it, he followed Kumiko and stood in the shadows for a while to watch her. His brows furrowed. There was something strikingly familiar about the way she sat there, her hair loose about her shoulders and her lithe form bathed in the silver-blue light of the moon. His eyes widened when it suddenly struck him.

A long time ago, on a moonlit night like this, Yuriko had sat in that same position, and her features had worn that same faraway expression Kumiko has now. That precise image of his daughter had been forever ingrained in his memory because he would never forget the events that followed after that night. If Kumiko was anything like her mother, then it could only mean that…

No. It couldn't be. …Could it?

And as if answering his unvoiced questions, Kumiko had then softly whispered a name – one that was unexpected, yet surprisingly familiar. Realization came quick and clear to him at last. All his concerns and worries had gradually faded into wistful affection. He smiled sadly. Like mother… like daughter.

It was then that he had made his presence known to her. He was resolute in what he was about to do. A long time ago, he made the biggest mistake of his life with his daughter. He wasn't about to make the same mistake with his granddaughter.

She suddenly let out a loud sigh, jarring him out of his thoughts. Kumiko turned to face him fully and tried again. "Ojii-san? I have something to ask you."

He couldn't help but smile this time. "Yes, I heard you the first time."

Kumiko blinked. "O-Oh, I see… ha ha," she laughed and sheepishly scratched the back of her head. "I'm sorry, Ojii-san… I don't know why I'm so nervous…"

He shook his head. "Kumiko," he said in a tone that was half-chiding and half-endearing. "I won't be able to help you…" he raised his eyebrows amusingly. "If you won't tell me what's wrong."

Kumiko dropped her gaze. "That's just it, Ojii-san. Nothing's wrong. Nothing's _supposed _to be wrong," she said quietly. "And yet…"

She trailed off, surprising him with the sudden sadness that crept into her voice. Kuroda watched her as she dangled her feet over the porch and swayed them back and forth. At that moment, she looked much like the kid she used to be, the kid she was when she first came to live with them… when she first lost the people she loved. "And yet…?" he gently prodded her.

"And yet… why do I feel like something _is_ wrong?" Kumiko suddenly raised her head to face him. "Or rather, why do I feel like something's… _right_?"

Kuroda blinked. Maybe it was their generation gap, but he couldn't quite follow the flow of conversation. "What?"

His granddaughter leaned her head backwards against a post and closed her eyes dejectedly. "I'm confused."

_So am I_, was Kuroda's thought. He shook his head. "What are you trying to say, Kumiko?"

She slowly opened her eyes. "Ojii-san…" The Oedo Princess folded her legs and hugged them against her chest, and then rested her chin on her knees. Kuroda couldn't help but notice how, in that position, she looked so small. And so fragile. And so… lonely. "Have you ever felt so let down by what you believe in?"

Kuroda's brows furrowed. This wasn't something he expected to hear, and from her, of all people. "What do you mean? Why would I feel let down?"

She sighed loudly. "I used to believe in something that felt absolutely right. I trusted in it. And I fought for it." Her gaze wandered and settled upon the moon, now slightly obscured by the purple clouds passing by it. "And now suddenly… I'm starting to doubt my reasons for believing in it. For fighting for it. The strong faith I once had in it is slowly weakening."

Kuroda shifted his position on the porch so he could face his granddaughter more clearly. "How come?"

Kumiko smiled. She gratefully acknowledged the fact that her grandfather did not question her on what she was talking about but merely encouraged her to continue. "Because that something I used to believe in doesn't seem so right anymore. And what used to feel so utterly wrong suddenly seems… well… not so wrong at all."

She met her grandfather's eyes. "Ojii-san… why do I feel like what's supposed to feel so wrong somehow feels… _right_?"

Kuroda regarded her for a long moment. She held his gaze pleadingly, almost desperately. She seemed to be searching in his eyes the answers she couldn't find within herself. Yet he knew he could never provide the answers she was seeking. She has to find out for herself.

"Kumiko," he gently said. "You're not listening to your Shin."

She was certain her heart stopped at that very moment. She felt the gears on her brain stop functioning too. Her spiraling thoughts all came to a grinding halt as she stared blankly at her serenely smiling grandfather. She knew he had always been perceptive, but _this_ just went way beyond freaky. "M-My Shin?"

"Yes," answered Kuroda, thoroughly amused at the look on Kumiko's face. "Your core. Your truth. Your heart. Your _shin._"

Kumiko blinked. The gears on her mind slowly started to stir and whir. It took her a few more moments to realize that her grandfather was talking about the different meanings and connotations of the word itself, and not about the name of a particular person. "O-Oh," she stammered weakly. "_That_ shin."

"Yes, that _shin_," said her grandfather. He raised his eyebrows at her and added, "Why, what did you _think_ I mean, Kumiko?"

"Nothing!" she blurted out quickly. "I never thought you meant anything else! What else could _shin_ mean, right? Ha ha!" she laughed uneasily and turned her head to avoid his eyes.

Kuroda shook his head. Kumiko, like her mother, had always been a bad liar.

"But you know, Ojii-san…" he heard her murmur as her gaze suddenly softened. "I never noticed how beautiful its depth of meaning is." A small smile played on her lips. "_Shin…_"

Kuroda averted his eyes. The tender look that momentarily passed her across her face seemed too private even for him to see. He cleared his thought awkwardly. "Anyway, Kumiko," he said as his granddaughter turned to him once more. "What is your _shin_ telling you?"

She hugged her legs tighter against her chest. "I don't know," she said as she rocked back and forth. "I mean, I don't know if I should listen to it in the first place."

"Really?" said Kuroda. "Why shouldn't you?"

"Because I'm afraid it's not telling me the truth."

He smiled at that. "Shin _is _truth," Kuroda gently reminded her.

"But how _can _it be the truth, Ojii-san?" Kumiko burst out. "It lied to me once! How can I be sure it won't lie to me again?"

"Your _shin_ never lied to you, Kumiko," her grandfather calmly replied. "It just never fully revealed itself to you before. Perhaps… it is only now that you are seeing the real truth about yourself."

She sighed and let her head fall into her hands. "Then how do I know, Ojii-san? How do I know?" she mumbled between her fingers. "How do I know if I should believe what my _shin_ is revealing to me now? What if in the future, it chooses to reveal something else?"

Kuroda stared at her hunched form. "Why are you so afraid of what it should reveal in the future?"

He saw her visibly stiffen at his question. Worried when she suddenly fell silent, Kuroda spoke up hesitantly, "Kumiko?"

"Because I don't want my _shin_ to change anymore," she answered quietly. "I lost track of what I used to believe was my real _shin. _This _shin _I'm feeling now, I… I don't want to lose my faith in this one. I don't want to lose this _shin_."

Kuroda smiled. "Then you know how real your _shin_ now is, Kumiko," he said. "Because of how much you treasure it. Because of how much you are afraid to lose it."

She raised her head to meet his eyes. "But Ojii-san, I'm still confused. This joy, this fear… I think I felt this way before too. How do I know which of my feelings are real? Is my _shin _tricking me?"

"No," said Kuroda. "Your _shin _does not serve to trick you. Your _shin _is the one that sheds light into the shadows lurking in your mind and in your heart. But there are different kinds of light, Kumiko. Perhaps you just mistook the light of one for the light of another."

Kumiko stared at her grandfather blankly. He was talking in riddles again. "Huh?"

He chuckled softly at that. "The shadows are those thoughts and feelings haunting you," Kuroda explained. "These are your doubts, your fears, your inhibitions. They disappear when the light of your _shin _shines upon them."

"Then how come I still have them?" Kumiko persisted. "If the light of my _shin_ is real, how come I still have these doubts and fears and inhibitions? Why are they still holding me back?"

"Ah, but the shadows are not the ones holding you back, Kumiko." Kuroda smiled at her. "What holds you back is another kind of light, one that's entirely different from that of your _shin_."

Intrigued, Kumiko straightened her legs and leaned forward. "What do you mean?"

"Let me ask you this, Kumiko." Kuroda stared up into the night sky. "Have you ever felt like giving up teaching?"

She was startled at the unexpected question. "Ojii-san! You know I would never—"

"Never?" Kuroda interrupted her. "You never felt like giving it up? _Ever_?"

She fell silent. Kumiko followed her grandfather's gaze and saw that the clouds had gotten thicker, completely hiding the moon from view. Yet the silver-blue outline of light shining around those clouds reminded her that the moon was still there.

"There had been times I nearly did," she slowly admitted. "My students can be so difficult sometimes. It's hard to knock some sense into their heads and make them listen to what I say!" She shook her head, half-amused, half-annoyed. "But it's not just my students, Ojii-san. Sometimes… it's the people around them. Sometimes the people who matter a lot to them and who should believe in them just don't seem to give a damn about them. That's why they refuse to listen. That's why they refuse to learn. Because these people had already taught them the lesson that life sucks. That life is all about betrayal and getting hurt and being let down. It's hard for me to teach them otherwise. And it hurts me as much as it hurts them. As much as I want the best for them, as a teacher, I can only do so much. It frustrates me, Ojii-san. It frustrates me how I can be so powerless. Sometimes I even ask myself, what's the use of being a teacher then? What's the use of fighting for something I cannot change?"

A gentle night breeze started to blow. The clouds started to move.

"But… if there's one thing I love in being a teacher, it's the fact that I don't just teach. I also learn."

Kuroda looked at her. "And what do you learn, Kumiko?"

"That there are still some things worth fighting for. Even if there are some things which I cannot change, at least I still tried to fight for the things that truly matter."

"And what are they?"

"Family. Friendship. Loyalty. Love. Even if I lose the fight in the end, the fight itself was worth it. Because fighting for these things makes all the difference in the world." Kumiko smiled. "And the funny thing is… I learned this from my students." _From him._

She turned to her grandfather. "This is what keeps me going. This is why I keep on believing in them and fighting for them. As a teacher, I know I can still do a lot for my students. If no one else would stand up for them and fight for them and make them believe in themselves once more, then I will. I may not make a big difference in their lives, but at least I still made a difference. And knowing that I did is what makes me happy."

Kuroda smiled at the affection and pride in her voice. His, however, was tinged with a bit of sadness. "That's how you know you would always be a teacher."

"Yes," came her answer, swift and clear.

"Then that is the light of your sun," said Kuroda. "The sun of your _shin_."

Kumiko blinked. "My sun?"

"Yes." Kuroda mimicked his granddaughter's position and stretched his legs out in front of him so he could face her fully. "Like the sun of this earth, your sun is the light of your day. The light that gives life to your world and gives you immeasurable joy. Everything you have just told me, Kumiko… that is your sun. It gives you the light that outshines everything else."

"Ojii-san…"

"And just like the sun of this earth, sometimes the sun of your _shin _sets, giving way to the night. It is then that your shadows reappear. But just as sure as the sun sets, it also rises the following day." He paused for a moment to let this sink in. Kumiko leaned forward, her full attention upon him now. "That is why," Kuroda continued. "Even though you would always have your doubts in being a teacher, you know you would never trade it for anything else in the world."

The wind blew stronger, and Kumiko wrapped her arms around herself at the sudden chill that permeated the night. The clouds had thinned, and they partially revealed the silver-blue globe behind them.

"My sun…" she murmured. "Ojii-san… I don't think…"

Kuroda inclined his head slightly. "You don't think what, Kumiko?"

She met his eyes once more. "Ojii-san, what you're saying now…" Kumiko faltered slightly as she searched for the right words to say. "I think that deep in my heart – in my _shin – _I have always known that being a teacher would always be my sun. But then…" she trailed off.

Kuroda smiled. "This is not about your being a teacher now, is it, Kumiko?"

She didn't answer.

"I believe… it's about something that is affected by your _being_ a teacher."

The way she guiltily dropped her gaze said it all. He chuckled. "I think you're finally seeing the moon, Kumiko."

Her head shot up at that. Her brows furrowed. "What do you mean? I have always seen the moon."

"No, Kumiko." Kuroda leaned forward so he could peer into her eyes more intently. "_Your_ moon."

She straightened at that. "My moon?"

"It's the duality of nature, Kumiko," said Kuroda as he leaned back against the post. "Just as there will always be the light of your day, there will also be the light of your night." His gaze traveled upwards once more. "It is not as powerful as the light of your sun; not as bright, not as sure and constant. But perhaps in some way, the light of your night is more special."

"How so?" Kumiko inquired as she scooted closer to where her grandfather was sitting.

He gestured towards the heavens. "When the sun rises, everything is warm and bright. It gives life to the earth, and all seems to be happy and well as long as the sun shines. But the sun doesn't always shine. Once in a while, it sets. And when it does, you are left in the darkness of the night."

He dropped his hand and looked at Kumiko once more. "When the night comes, people rely on two sources of light. One, of course, is electric light." He gestured this time at their surroundings. "As you can see, it is the one most commonly used. People rely on it so much that they sometimes neglect the fact that it is not real."

"Not real?"

"Yes," answered Kuroda. "It's an _artificial_ light. Once it gets cut off from its source of power, which is electricity, it dies. It is only then that people realize the value of the moon."

The wind succeeded in blowing away most of the clouds. Shafts of silver-blue light shone through them.

"Do you see how special the light of your moon is, Kumiko?" Kuroda murmured. "When everything else leaves you – even the sun – and you are left to dwell in the shadows… it is the moon that will always be there, selflessly giving you its light."

Kumiko's eyes widened.

"During your day, it is overpowered by your sun. And at night, it is neglected because you rely on your electric light. But it never left you, Kumiko. You may not see it, or you may not give much importance to it, but it is always there, waiting for a chance to give you its light when you need it most."

Kumiko's gaze fell upon the silver-blue globe shining brightly in the heavens. _When I need it most…_

"It doesn't matter if your sun sets," Kuroda continued as he followed her gaze. "Your moon will borrow the light of your sun and offer you what little light it could, just so it could fight the shadows of your night. But if it disappears… it is then that you are completely left in the dark. It is then that you are lost."

Kumiko dropped her gaze. She saw the glow of moonlight upon her pale skin, and saw the shadows her form made upon the ground. _Lost…_? Unwittingly, her hand traveled slowly upward to rest over her heart. She once again felt that aching feeling of loss that had been plaguing her since this morning. _My shin…_

"I thought I had already found my moon. The moon of my _shin,_" she murmured. She remembered the strong arms that held her that morning and the laughter that used to make her heart skip a beat. "But now… I'm not so sure if it still is my moon. I'm not sure if it ever was."

"Perhaps…" said Kuroda with a small smile. "You mistook the light of your moon for your electric light."

Slowly, Kumiko raised her head to look at him. "What do you mean?"

"You may have thought that your electric light was the one you could rely on. The one you thought you could believe in." Kuroda met her gaze. "But now the power is cut off. And you realize that the light shining on you at night was never real. And now you finally see the light that never left you. Kumiko… I think you're finally seeing your _real _moon."

The night breeze blew stronger. The clouds had nearly disappeared now.

"Be careful, Kumiko. You may only realize how important the light of your moon is when it is already gone."

Kumiko was startled when her grandfather suddenly stood up. "It's getting late," he said briskly. "You should go to sleep. You still have a class tomorrow." He started to walk away from her, and Kumiko could only blink dazedly at his departure.

"G-Good night…" she mumbled distractedly as she stood up.

His form was already half-hidden in the shadows when he spoke again. "You know, Kumiko… twenty-four years ago, Yuriko had trouble recognizing her moon too."

She was surprised at the sudden mention of her mother. "Really?"

"Yes," her grandfather answered. "It was during the darkest night of her life, when everything else left her. Even the family she once believed in."

"Wait!" Kumiko cried out when her grandfather started to walk away once more. "Okaa-san… did she ever find out what her moon was?"

He stopped. The wind picked up at that moment, and it ruffled the gray yukata he wore. The silence stretched between them, and Kumiko suddenly felt a strong compelling need to know the answer.

"Ojii-san?" she whispered when he still wouldn't speak.

"Yes," he finally answered. "She did."

She tentatively stepped forward. "And what was her moon?"

The wind died down. Kumiko pushed her hair away from her face and saw with wide eyes the way her grandfather turned to her with the saddest smile she had ever seen.

"Your father."

* * *

"Sawada-kun! Good morning!" 

Shin stopped walking and raised his head when he heard the voice. His eyes narrowed at the playful lilt in the tone. He'd recognize that foxy voice anywhere.

She smiled sweetly at him as their gazes met. "You're early today," she remarked gaily. She was standing in front of him with her hands clasped neatly behind her back. In the glow of morning sunlight, the long, shapely legs revealed beneath her short skirt looked temptingly flawless. Her blouse clung snugly to her body, and it emphasized those curves that his classmates talk so much about. Shin averted his eyes quickly and frowned. The neckline of her blouse hung just a tad bit too low for his taste.

"Fujiyama-sensei." He merely tilted his head in acknowledgement before he proceeded to walk around her.

Shizuka blinked at him as she followed him with her gaze. Were her charms ignored just then? The English teacher watched as her student continued to walk away from her without so much as a backward glance. She narrowed her eyes. Apparently, her fail-proof alluring powers have finally met their match. She pursed her lips in annoyance as she turned around and trotted quickly to follow him.

Shin suppressed a sigh when the Section 3-C adviser fell into step beside him. Because of everything that had happened since he came to Shirokin High yesterday, he had woken up this morning in a tremendously bad mood. The way his English teacher was bestowing her sudden and unwanted attention to him was doing little to ease his temper – especially since he would rather have the undivided attention of someone else.

"Mou," Shizuka huffed when the boy continued to walk towards the main entrance of Shirokin High in stoic silence. "I just don't understand you, boy. I think you're the only guy in this school who actually dislikes my company." She batted her lashes at him. "Am I really that unattractive for you, Sawada-kun?"

Shin scowled. _Sink your flirting hooks into someone who _wants _to be caught. Like Noda. _"What do you want?"

Shizuka raised an eyebrow. "My, aren't we in a bad mood today."

"How observant, sensei," Shin replied with just the tiniest hint of sarcasm evident in his voice.

Unaffected, Shizuka smiled. "Why thank you, Sawada-kun."

Her student fell silent again. Shizuka's smile turned into a frown. This guy was definitely a man of _very _few words. She tried again. "Didn't anyone ever teach you how to be a gentleman around women? Or is this simply the effect of Yamaguchi-sensei's influence over you guys?"

"Leave her out of this," Shin snapped a bit too quickly.

"Ooh, touchy on that matter, I see," Shizuka remarked coyly, for she knew she had hit a nerve. "I wonder why?"

Shin pressed his lips together and quickened his pace. "I don't have time for this, Fujiyama-sensei. I'm going to be late."

"I believe the warning bell hasn't even rung yet," Shizuka helpfully supplied as she followed his gait. "Besides, since when were _you _this concerned about punctuality?"

"And since when were _you_ so interested in _me_?" Shin stopped and abruptly faced his startled teacher. "What's your hidden agenda?"

Shizuka smiled at that. Ah, yes… he _is _the genius of Section 3-D. "You saw through me well, Sawada-kun," she told him. "Congratulations."

Shin's eyes narrowed. "What do you _want_?" he repeated, more firmly this time.

"Direct to the point, aren't we," said Shizuka dryly. "Spare me your mood swings, boy. I just have a couple of questions I want to ask you about Yamaguchi-sensei. And remember, Sawada, I want nothing less than the truth from you. Is that understood?"

Shin's eyes narrowed as he took a menacing step towards her. "I'll have you know, _sensei,_ that I don't just take orders from anyone."

Shizuka chuckled as she too stepped forward. "And I'll have you know that I don't accept crap from anyone either." She raised her chin and met his gaze evenly. "_Sawada-kun._"

Shin eyed his teacher suspiciously. It was the first time she used _that _tone of voice on him. "What's your question then?"

And so Shizuka asked him.

* * *

For the umpteenth time that morning, Kikuno flipped her cell phone close and placed it back on her desk. She leaned back on her chair and stared for a long moment at the ceiling of her clinic. After a while, she got tired of looking for patterns among the white paint. She inclined her head and looked at her phone lying atop her papers. 

"Do you think I should go through with this?" she asked it.

Her mobile phone only stared back at her. Innocently. Silently.

She grumbled. "You're no help."

Her chair creaked as she leaned forward and rested her elbows on her desk. Her gaze wandered over to the window. She blinked in surprise when she saw Fujiyama-sensei standing near the main entrance and talking to Sawada. The boy arrived earlier than they had anticipated. That meant Fujiyama-sensei was already doing her part. Kikuno realized that it was time for her to do what she had to do.

The problem was that she didn't know if she _could._

She suddenly wondered why _she _was the one who had to go through with this. She could have easily switched places with the English teacher. Then again, Fujiyama-sensei was the one who saw what she did. It was only logical that she'd be the one to talk to the young boy. And Kikuno knew that as for herself, _she _was the one who witnessed what happened yesterday. Therefore it was only right that she should talk to…

She let her head fall into her hands as she groaned loudly. Why did fate have to bestow this crucial task on _her_, of all people?

She glanced over to the window just in time to see the look of utter shock on Sawada's face. She smirked. Fujiyama-sensei must have already told him.

She heaved a resigned sigh as she took her phone with trembling fingers. It was too late to back out now.

"Kumiko, you idiot," she muttered under her breath. "You better appreciate all that I'm doing for you."

She quickly flipped her phone open and dialed before she could change her mind again. As always, she felt her heart speed up as she waited for him to answer. Normally, it was because she was excited to hear his voice again. Now… it was because she wished she wouldn't have to hear what he has to say.

He finally picked up. "Hello?"

She bit her lip as she felt her stomach flutter, that familiar feeling of nervousness and joy momentarily overwhelming her. He had always produced that effect on her. Perhaps he always will. It was something that would take a while to get over, especially if this phone call would confirm hers and Fujiyama-sensei's suspicions. She just wasn't sure whether she should feel relieved or devastated if they were right.

"Hello?" repeated the man at the other end of the line, confusion evident in his voice.

The school nurse closed her eyes to quell the rising feeling of dread in her chest. This was going to be painful for her, but she knew that this was the right thing to do. It was time to know the truth, for Sawada, for Yamaguchi-sensei… and most of all, for herself.

"Kawashima-sensei?" she heard him venture tentatively. It's now or never.

She took a deep breath and, with quavering lips, she bravely smiled.

"Hello, Shinohara-san?"

* * *

Shin felt like someone just slapped him in the face. "What kind of question is that?" 

"One that deserves a truthful answer from you," Shizuka calmly replied.

"That's a load of bullshit," Shin muttered thickly. He hoisted his bag over his shoulder and turned his back on his teacher to walk away when what she said next made him stop in his tracks.

"I saw you."

Something in that statement sent chills down his spine. Shin had a feeling he was about to find out something he wouldn't like. Still, he kept his cool as he inclined his head towards his teacher and asked, "What are you talking about?"

"I saw you the other day." Shizuka smirked and folded her arms across her chest. "I saw you that afternoon after the faculty meeting when all students should have already gone home." She raised her eyebrows pointedly. "Apparently, _some _students had chosen to remain at Shirokin High that time for… personal reasons"

Shin felt his heartbeat suddenly pick up at that. His teacher couldn't be talking about _that _now… could she? Slowly, Shin turned around to face her fully.

The Section 3-C adviser stepped slowly towards him. "Don't you remember, boy? I didn't expect that it was something you'd forget."

"What…" Shin swallowed at the catch in his voice. "…do you mean?"

As soon as he had asked it, he immediately wished he didn't.

* * *

"Kawashima-sensei." He sounded relieved when she finally spoke. "You scared me for a moment there. I thought something bad had happened. Are you all right?" 

Kikuno smiled at the worry in his voice. "I'm fine, Shinohara-san."

"That's good," he kindly said. "So to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"

He could be such a charming gentleman sometimes. She closed her eyes and sighed. This was going to be more difficult than she thought. "Shinohara-san… I called because I have a very important question to ask you."

He was startled at the seriousness of her voice. "About what?" he gently asked.

"About Yamaguchi-sensei."

She let the silence stretch for a few moments. She could almost feel his sudden apprehension.

"What about her?" he finally said.

Kikuno glanced at the window. Fujiyama-sensei and Sawada were still talking, but she couldn't make out the expressions on their faces.

"Kawashima-sensei?"

"Before anything else," said Kikuno slowly. "I'd like you to promise me that you'll tell me the truth."

He seemed surprised – and slightly hurt. "Why would I lie to you?"

She chose not to answer that. "Do you promise?"

He sighed. "I promise. Now what is it that you want to ask me, Kawashima-sensei?"

Kikuno heard something clatter in the background at the other end of the line after he heard her question. He seemed to have dropped whatever it was he had been holding out of utter shock.

"W-Why are you asking me that, Kawashima-sensei?" he stammered.

"Because, Shinohara-san, I saw what you did yesterday."

* * *

Shizuka never thought the day would come when she would see Shirokin High's best student look as dumbstruck as he did at that moment. She smirked. "I see your memory didn't fail you, Sawada." 

Shin turned away from her. "Why are you telling me this?" he said quietly.

The English teacher blinked at the underlying pain she heard in his voice. A twinge of sympathy ran through her, and she suddenly felt guilty about the way she had been mercilessly teasing him. He didn't deserve it after everything he'd been through.

"Look, Sawada…" Shizuka said when he again started to walk away from her. "I know you're a badly behaving kid. But I also know you're not a bad person." Her tone turned gentle. "And I know you don't want to hurt anyone. But don't you see that because of what's happening now, you're doing exactly that?"

He quickened his pace.

She pursed her lips and went after him. "Please, Sawada-kun, listen to me! I want to help. That's why I need to know the truth from you. I need you to trust me."

He laughed mockingly at that. "Why should I?"

"You're seriously asking me that, boy?" The English teacher raised her eyebrows. "You, of all people, should understand why I'm doing this."

He abruptly stopped walking. She followed suit, and she paused a few steps behind him.

Shizuka smiled. "It's because I care for her too."

He stiffened for a moment before he let out a resigned sigh. He let his school bag slide to the ground with a loud thump.

"I'll ask you again," said Shizuka. "And this time, don't deny the truth. Not to me. Not to yourself."

Slowly, he turned around to face her… and her eyes widened at the intensity and wealth of emotion evident in his. The answer to her question was already clear, for she could already see the truth in his eyes. Yet she still needed to hear it from him.

"Sawada…" said the Section 3-C adviser softly. "Please… it's time you speak the truth. For her, if not for anyone else."

And he did.

* * *

He was silent after she told him everything she had seen that morning. Kikuno took a deep, shuddering breath as she struggled to compose herself. It was difficult enough having to relate the story to him. She had to struggle not to let him hear the emotion in her voice. She couldn't let him know how much she herself was hurting. 

Finally, he spoke. "I'm sorry, Kawashima-sensei."

"For what? For not telling Fujiyama-sensei and I earlier? Then you'd better be really sorry." Her tone softened. "But it's okay. You're already forgiven anyway. At least, for what you did to both of us."

He hesitated for a moment before saying, "But Kawashima-sensei… I don't understand. Why are you telling me this?"

She looked out her window once more. Sawada and Fujiyama-sensei were still talking. This time however, it was the English teacher who looked genuinely surprised. Kikuno sighed. She hoped she herself was ready for this.

"I only saw what I did. I know it's the truth. But I don't know if it's the _whole _truth." She tore her gaze from the window. "And I want to know that from you."

The surprise was evident in his voice. "Why do you want to know?"

She closed her eyes and once again felt that familiar tug inside her chest. "Because I know what it's like to get hurt. And I don't want her to experience that."

A long pause.

"I would never deliberately hurt her," he said quietly.

"I know," said Kikuno softly. "That's why I need to hear the truth from you, Shinohara-san. I… I want to help."

"Kawashima-sensei…"

The school nurse leaned back against her chair as she cradled her phone between her cheek and shoulder. She shook her head wryly at the disbelief in his voice. Perhaps he only just realized that she cares for _her_ just as much as he does.

"You're willing to go through with this…" he slowly said. "Just for her?"

Kikuno smiled. "If she had been in my place, she'd be doing the same thing for a friend."

She glanced outside the building. Fujiyama-sensei stepped forward and placed a hand on Sawada's shoulder.

"Then she's lucky to have one like you," he said softly.

She saw the young boy look at his teacher's hand resting on his shoulder. Then after a long moment of hesitation, he placed his hand over hers. Kikuno smiled and tore her gaze away from the window.

"Will you tell me?"

She waited patiently for the man at the other end of the line to answer. She didn't see the small smile that played across Sawada's lips as his grasp on the hand he held tightened.

"Yes," he said finally. "You deserve nothing less." He took a deep breath. "Kawashima-sensei… the truth is…"

* * *

"Excuse me… so sorry… coming through…" Shizuka muttered as she slid her way in and out of the throng. The warning bell had already rung, and people were rushing in the building and heading towards the main staircase. The Section 3-C adviser, however, was going in another direction. People she passed by looked at her strangely as she all but knocked off everything that stood in her way just so she could get to her destination. 

"Whoa!" shrieked Kikuno loudly as she nearly collided with the English teacher. She had stepped out of her clinic at the same time that Shizuka was about to enter it. "Mattaku! If you're always going to barge in like that time each time you visit, the least you could do is wear a helmet!"

Shizuka chose to ignore that. "Well? Were you able to do it?"

Kikuno scowled. "Oh I'm fine, Fujiyama-sensei. Thank you for asking me how I am this morning."

The English teacher rolled her eyes. "Okay then… how are you, Kawashima-sensei? You're fine, right? I'm fine too! Isn't that great? Now _please_," Shizuka lowered her voice. "Tell me… were you able to talk to Shinohara-san?"

Kikuno sighed. "Yes. He told me everything."

"Really? What did he say?"

The nurse told her story.

Shizuka's mouth dropped open. "You can't be serious. Are you sure he told you the truth?"

Kikuno folded her arms across her chest. "Are you doubting me, Fujiyama-sensei?" she challenged with raised eyebrows.

"It's not you I doubt," Shizuka muttered as she massaged her temples with the fingers of one hand. She could feel a major headache coming on. "You're not going to believe this, but," she dropped her hand to her side. "Sawada told me a _different_ story."

Kikuno blinked. "What do you mean?"

And the Section 3-C adviser told _her _story. This time, it was the nurse's turn to gape.

"He told you that? But it doesn't make any sense!" the nurse exclaimed.

"Exactly my point!" said Shizuka exasperatedly.

Kikuno slowly lowered her arms. "Unless…"

Shizuka's eyes widened. "You don't think…"

They stared at each other for a long time before they both furiously blurted out, "_Those stupid men_!"

A few males passing in the hallway turned to glare at them in annoyance. "What's _your_ problem?" demanded one of them.

"Mind your own business, damn it," Shizuka snapped. The boy scowled and went on his way while he muttered to himself something about females acting crazy during _that_ time of the month.

However, these rude comments went unnoticed by the two women as they stepped closer together to discuss in hushed voices their speculations. They put together the different bits of information they had gathered, and slowly, they came to realize the whole, real, crazy truth.

"Oh dear lord," moaned Kikuno as she slapped a hand to her forehead. "Why do men keep on complicating things so much?"

"Because they're too idiotic to keep things simple," Shizuka remarked dryly. "_Now_ what do we do? Do we tell them what we know?"

"Oh sure," said Kikuno. "And then we'll just wait for them to hunt us down for breaking our promise not to tell anyone what they told us."

"Jeez. Did you eat sarcasm for breakfast this morning?" muttered Shizuka.

Kikuno smirked at her. "Two helpings, actually."

"That explains it." The English teacher sighed. "Well, we can't tell Yamaguchi-sensei either. She's even more idiotic than the two men combined. She'll probably just misinterpret what we tell her."

"Or she'd likely join the two in killing us," Kikuno pointed out. "And even if she's smart enough not to jump to conclusions, she might only complicate things even more, especially if she herself isn't so sure of her feelings yet."

Shizuka tilted her head to one side. "What makes you think she's not sure of her feelings?"

Kikuno arched an eyebrow. "Do you think we would've seen what we did if she was?"

Shizuka pursed her lips. "Point taken."

Both women sighed loudly and leaned against the door of Kikuno's clinic. "So…" The school nurse helplessly waved her arms around. "What now?"

It was then that a colorful poster caught Shizuka's eye. Slowly, she straightened and read the elegant characters written on it.

"_A Night to Remember_…" she murmured.

Kikuno blinked at the glazed look that that came over Shizuka's eyes. "Fujiyama-sensei?"

A smile started to spread across the Section 3-C adviser's lips. "I have a plan, Kawashima-sensei." She suddenly grinned. "One that just might work."

* * *

"Classes aren't over yet you know." 

He felt his heart jump at the sound of her voice. Whether it was because of joy or pain, he couldn't be sure. Maybe it was both.

"Then what are you doing up here?" he drawled lazily. "You're missing the class you're supposed to be teaching."

"And you're missing the class you're supposed to be attending." He heard her soft footsteps padding towards him as her sneakers scuffed against the floor of the rooftop. "You're missing my class, Sawada."

_It's not your class I'm missing._ "So what?" He kept his eyes closed as he spoke, and he shifted his lying position on the bench to turn his back on her. "It's already the last period anyway. Besides, I already know all that stuff you're teaching, Yankumi."

"Hmph. You're a cheeky one," he heard her mutter. She moved to sit down on the floor beside him, and he summoned every ounce of his willpower to ignore her presence. _Act cool,_ he told himself. _Act like you don't care. Act like your heart's not breaking each time you're around her._

He stopped at that train of thought. "Damn it," he whispered hoarsely.

If she heard him, she didn't show it. Instead, what she said, quite unexpectedly, was, "You know almost everything about every subject here at Shirokin. How come it's only _my_ class you're cutting?"

_Because I don't want to see you._ "Because it's boring."

He expected her to launch into another one of her moralizing speeches, about how education is the foundation of the youth and all that nonsense. When she remained silent, he mentally prepared himself to receive one of her blows. When several seconds passed and still nothing happened, he couldn't help himself anymore. Intrigued and a little confused, he opened his eyes and turned his head slightly to look at her.

He immediately forgot he was supposed to ignore her as he openly stared at her. She was wearing her customary tracksuit, but he was surprised to see that her hair was flowing freely in the slight breeze, unbound from the pigtails she usually wore. She also wasn't wearing her glasses, and he could see, even though she wasn't looking at him, the way her eyes gazed unseeingly into the distance.

He slowly sat up as his brows creased in suspicion. She usually looked this way only when she was readying herself for a fight. Why did she look that way now?

"Sawada…" she murmured, breaking through his thoughts. "Do you really hate my class that much?"

She surprised him with how quietly she spoke. This wasn't the boisterous, loudmouth woman he knew. What happened to her when he was away?

She turned to look at him. "Do you?"

He turned away. The tender look in her eyes was almost too much for him to bear. "What are you doing up here?" he repeated, choosing not to answer her question.

She seemed to evading answers in the same way he was. "Where were you yesterday? I was looking for you."

He smiled humorlessly at the irony. _She _was the reason he didn't want to be found. "Why did you even bother to look for me?" _Why do you even care?_

"I'm your teacher. And as my student, you're my responsibility."

Teacher. Student. He closed his eyes as he felt anger welling inside him at those words. _Even after everything, that's all I am to you._ "I'm not someone you have to look after. I can take care of myself. I'm not a kid anymore." _Why can't you see that?_

"I know that," she said softly. "But that doesn't stop me from worrying about you."

Her quiet admission stirred something inside of him. He quickly fought it down. "Didn't Minami tell you where I was?"

Her face seemed to harden at those words. "He told me you were with Natsumi."

He raised his eyebrows. "So why are you still asking?"

She turned to face him fully. "Because I don't believe you."

He blinked in surprise when she stood up and walked slowly towards him. Her eyes were locked intently on his. He couldn't tear his gaze away from her. She stopped in front of him, stared at him for a long time… and then her fist shot out without warning.

"Oi!" he yelled at her angrily as he quickly blocked her punch. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

She grabbed his arm before he could lower it. She held it up, stared at it, and calmly asked, "What happened to your hand?"

His eyes widened as the injured hand he had been able to successfully hide all day was now in full view. He stared at her in both frustration and awe as realization struck him. She had deliberately aimed her punch in a way that he would be forced to block her with his bad hand, but also in a way that she knew wouldn't hurt him.

Her grip on his arm tightened when he moved it. "Let go," he hissed.

She arched an eyebrow. "You didn't really think you could hide this from me, did you?"

He pulled his arm back roughly, ignoring the stinging pain in his fist as she was forced to let go of it. His eyes narrowed at her. "How did you know?"

She smirked at him. "It's obvious something's wrong with your left hand."

He cradled his bad hand in his other palm. "How could you tell?"

"You're ambidextrous," she said simply. "You use your right hand in some tasks, but I know you favor your left hand when it comes to writing." She smiled at him knowingly. "I saw you this morning writing with your right hand."

He pursed his lips as he placed his hands back in his pockets. He had to give her credit for that. His friends didn't even notice the difference. She was pretty cunning for someone who could sometimes be so incredibly dense. "So what's your point?"

She took a step towards him. "You were with Natsumi yesterday, right?"

He didn't answer.

She smiled at the way he was challenging her with his silence. She sat down on the bench beside him. "Did anything happen to her? Was she hurt?"

The seemingly innocent question angered him on many levels. "Why do you assume that? Do you actually _want _her to get hurt?" he shot back. "I would never let anything or anyone hurt her."

"I know you won't," she said gently. "Because I know how much you love her."

He had to stare at her. Was that… _envy_ he heard in her voice? _No,_ he shook his head quickly. _You're letting your imagination run away with you again. _"So why do you have to ask me that?"

"I'm not assuming that Natsumi's hurt. I don't want anything bad to happen to your sister either. However…" She turned and met his gaze evenly. "I'm assuming that something bad _did _happen." She inclined her head pointedly at the hand in his pocket.

"This?" he took his hand out and held it in front of her. It was covered with bandages. "This is nothing. I've been through worse." _Much worse than physical pain. _"You don't have to worry about me."

To his surprise, she averted her eyes. For some reason, she couldn't look at his hand for a long time. "I know how much it hurts you when you see your sister in pain," she murmured. "However… did it ever occur to you that perhaps I feel the same way?"

His brows furrowed. "About Natsumi?"

"No." She raised her eyes slowly to look at his face. "About you."

He turned away. What was he supposed to answer to that?

He heard her sigh loudly. "Sawada, please… what _really_ happened yesterday? Why is your fist injured like that?"

He closed his eyes briefly. _Imouto… forgive me. _"A bunch of guys were harassing Natsumi. I… I defended her from them."

She was quiet for a long time. He shifted uneasily in his seat. It usually wasn't hard for him to lie, but he didn't like the fact that he had to use his sister in doing so.

"So that injury was caused by those men?" she finally asked.

"Yes."

"Because you fought them?"

He had to fight the growing feeling of guilt that was making his stomach squirm. "Yes."

"Mmm…" she said thoughtfully. "I was just wondering… since when did men have spikes on their bodies?"

She could ask the weirdest questions sometimes. "Huh?"

"I've seen many different kinds of injuries, Sawada. Enough to last me a lifetime." She turned to face him fully. "For your hand to be bandaged like that, it's either you dealt a wrongly aimed blow, or your fist received the full force of something it's not capable of handling." She gestured at his injured fist. "What usually happens is that your knuckles or your wrist might get sprained. Your hand might also swell. At the very worst, some of your bones might even get fractured. But judging from the way your hand looks now, I think it's only slightly sprained. That's why you bandaged it up to your wrist."

He tore his gaze from her momentarily to stare at his hand. She could tell that much about his injury just by simply _looking_ at it?

Apparently though, she could tell even more. "What surprises me though is that if you've been hurt because of a fight, you should have plenty of other injuries. You, however, only have one."

His attention was diverted when she gently took hold of his wrist. "You punched those men, right? That's how your fist got injured. Punching human beings, however—" and she turned his hand over and held it up to his face so he himself could see the bloody marks on the bandages, "—would never cause _this_ kind of injury."

His eyes widened.

"The only way that would happen," she said as she slowly let go of his hand. "Is if your fist came in contact with something sharp, or at least with something that has a rough or uneven surface." She folded her arms across her chest and raised her eyebrows at him. "So unless these men had somehow grown spikes all over their bodies, you're not telling the truth, Sawada."

He balled his fist tightly. Pain shot sharply through his fingers and his wrist.

"You never fought those men," she stated. "Because you were never with Natsumi in the first place."

He lowered his fist and glanced at her from beneath his bangs. "How did you know that?" he said quietly.

"I went to her school after I talked to Minami to check how you were. And I saw her walking home." She looked at him pointedly. "_Alone_."

He couldn't bear to look into her eyes anymore. He turned away and pressed his lips together, at a loss for words.

"I know you love your sister, Sawada. But I never thought you'd stoop as low as to use her to cover up your lie. I thought I knew you better than that."

That was the last straw. "You thought you _knew _me?" he burst out as he stood to his full height. She had always been a small woman, but with her sitting down like that, he towered over her. "Let me tell you this, Yankumi." And he leaned close to whisper, "_You don't know me at all._"

The bell rang at that moment. He grabbed his bag with his good hand and swung it over his shoulder as he turned to leave.

"Then I want to know you, Shin."

The way she softly whispered his name – his _real _name – was what, more than anything, made him stop in his tracks.

"I want to know you," she repeated, louder this time. Because his back was facing her, he didn't see the way she slowly stood up and gazed at him pleadingly. "Please… please talk to me. You never used to keep the truth from me. Why are you lying to me now?"

He could barely keep his warring emotions at bay. "And why are you spying on me all of a sudden?" He turned around to face her angrily. "What right do you have to meddle with my life? What right do you have to question my decisions? Who do you think you are, anyway?" He smiled at her mockingly, bitterly. "You're just my teacher."

"So that's all I am to you?" she burst out when he turned his back to her again. "I'm just your teacher?" He could hear the barely controlled tremor in her voice. "What you did in the classroom that day… and what happened after the faculty meeting… all of that is just nothing to you?"

She suddenly laughed. "Oh, I see it now. This is just a game to you, isn't it, Sawada?" He pressed his lips together furiously as she reverted to calling him by that name he so despised. "Is this simply just a sick joke to you, huh? _Huh_?" He nearly lost his footing when she pushed his back with both hands. Her voice rose with each question. "Do you get some sick, perverse satisfaction out of toying with people's feelings? Do you like it when you lead people on only to crush them down like some trash you encounter on the street? Damn it, Sawada, is that all I am to you?! Your toy? Your trash?"

"_URUSAI, KUMIKO!_"

She was rendered speechless. He didn't know what shocked both of them more: the fact that he had told her to shut up, or the fact that he had just called her by her first name.

Sounds of jubilant laughter rose from below them. People were piling joyfully out of the main entrance, free from the constraints school had on them as classes were already over.

"You have no right to speak to me like that," he said quietly. "I already told you… that you don't know me."

He let his bag drop to the ground.

"Because you don't know…"

He slowly turned around to face her. And this time, he did not hesitate to gaze into the depths of her eyes, so he could see the truth in them… so she could see the truth in his.

"…just how much you mean to me."

A gust of wind suddenly blew, and it made her hair fly all over her face. She held his gaze unflinchingly in hers, as if his eyes were a lifeline she was hanging on to. It was at that moment when the strangest thought suddenly struck him. He had never seen her look this vulnerable.

"Then tell me," she softly said. She took a step closer towards him. "What am I to you?"

He too stepped forward. "Do you really want to know…"

Another step.

"What you are to me…"

Another step.

"…Kumiko?"

Her name sounded so right on his lips.

"Yes," she whispered.

They were standing so close. So very close. With a trembling hand, he reached out to touch her face. Yet before his skin could come in contact with hers, he curled his fingers into a fist, closed his eyes, and took several steps backward. He had felt their presence long before she had even heard their footsteps.

"Shin!" The door to the rooftop burst open with a bang, and in bounded Minami. "There you are, man! We were looking all over for you!"

He placed his hands inside his pockets and turned his back to her so he wouldn't have to see the pain that flashed in her eyes. "Hey, guys."

"Kuma's waiting for us downstairs," said Noda as he and Uchi appeared behind Minami. He grinned. "He says he's gonna treat us today."

"C'mon man," said Uchi. "You comin' with us or what?"

They didn't seem to notice the woman standing motionlessly behind him.

"Yeah." He offered them a small smile. "Yeah, I'm coming."

The door banged close as the three rushed down the stairs excitedly. He picked up his bag from the floor and slowly started to follow them.

"Shin."

He already had his hand on the doorknob when her voice stopped her. "What?"

"Please…" She sounded so tired. So very tired. "Tell me the truth. What am I to you?"

He turned the doorknob.

"You're my teacher…"

He opened the door.

"And I'm your student."

He stepped onto the stairway.

"What else is there…"

He turned to her.

"…_Yankumi_?"

He gazed at her for what seemed like both forever and a moment. And then the door closed behind him.

She waited until his footsteps receded. Slowly, she stepped forward and let her forehead rest against the door of the rooftop. And with trembling fingers, she tenderly brushed at the wetness in her cheeks.

"That's right, Yankumi," she whispered. "What else is there?"

* * *

_End of chapter six_

* * *

**A/N: **Shin has such a beautiful name, ne:) 

Some of you might have already noticed that the tone and mood of this chapter is quite different from the first five chapters of **Reward**. This chapter is more serious, more somber. I had planned on adding some comic relief, decided against it in the end. Aside from the fact that it would make this chapter _waaaay_ longer, the comedy just didn't seem to fit anywhere. It would just be anticlimactic, so to speak. And I also believe that Shin and Kumiko's feelings deserve to be taken seriously too. That's why I wrote the chapter this way. Besides, like what I said in my author's note in chapter two, I'm trying to keep a balance with the way I write. :)

The next chapter would (finally!) be about the dance. ;)

- shirotora-san

* * *

Japanese glossary: 

**Imouto** – little sister

**Okaa** – mother

**Sake – **rice wine

**Urusai** – "shut up" or "be quiet"

**Yukata** – a Japanese robe


	7. Shadows

**A/N**: Just a few notes before we proceed to the chapter itself:

1)** Thank you very much for all the wonderful reviews**. All your support was very much appreciated, believe me. All the praises and comments were very heartwarming, and even the constructive criticisms really helped a lot. I will keep all those helpful hints in mind, and I promise I will try my very best to do them. And to everyone who showed their support in this fic, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I will see to it that this fic will be finished for you guys, no matter how long it takes. :)

2) **Clothes.** As weird as this may seem, the biggest problem I encountered while writing this chapter was trying to decide what our lovable characters should wear. I am not, in the very least, a fashion expert. I had to research in the Internet several times just so I could find the right terminologies for the designs I had in mind. That is also why I want to give a shout out to my bestfriend for all her help in this chapter. Thank you very much, dear!

3) **The setting of this chapter takes place nearly a week after Chapter 6**. That means several days had already passed since the incident at the rooftop. If you guys want to know what happened in those days… well… you have to read further into the fic to find out! ;)

And oh yeah, if you guys have trouble with all the technical terms in fashion, Google would be a really great help. It sure helped me, anyway. ;)

That been said, on to the fic!

* * *

"**REWARD"**

A Gokusen Fanfiction

by shirotora-san

* * *

CHAPTER SEVEN

_**Shadows**_

He turned off the light in the bathroom as he stepped out, the lower half of his body wrapped in a towel. He rubbed his dripping hair briskly with another towel as he crossed his room and sat down on his bed. He looked at his suit hanging in his open closet and frowned slightly. He had quite a number of choices when he was looking for something to wear, and he hoped he picked the best one. And he hoped he'd look good in it.

He shook his head and sighed. He couldn't believe he actually _bought_ a new suit just for this night. Kashiwagi-san was always teasing him for being such a tightwad. He wondered what his partner's reaction would be when he finds out he actually splurged on _clothes_. He peered at his reflection in the mirror in front of him. His looks had never been an issue for him before, and vanity had never really been his thing. But for some reason, he suddenly wanted to look his very best tonight. And all day long, he tried to convince himself that _she _wasn't the reason.

Then again, maybe it was.

He pressed his lips together and abruptly stood up, quickly dispelling the thought. He walked over to the closet and took out the suit before he carefully laid it out on his bed. Just as he was about to change however, he paused as something caught his eye.

He slowly sat back down on his bed, careful not to wrinkle the suit he had so diligently pressed that afternoon. Gently, he took the picture frame that was resting on the headboard and cradled it on one hand. He ran the fingers of his other hand over the glass encasing the photograph inside.

It was the perfect image of a happy, smiling family. The father, a dignified man wearing a Lieutenant's uniform, had his arm around his beautiful wife's shoulders. She was smiling demurely, a gentle expression mirrored by the young girl sitting in front of her. And beside that young girl was a little boy, who was showing the gaps between his teeth as he grinned widely at the camera.

He was that little boy.

And this was the last picture he had together with his family.

"Otou-san… okaa-san…" he murmured softly as he ran his fingers over the faces of his parents. "It's been a long time. I miss you both." He closed his eyes briefly at the sudden sadness that overwhelmed him. It's been years since their death, but the emptiness they left behind had never been filled. Perhaps it never will.

He was six years old when he lost his parents. He barely knew them, barely even remembered them. But the few memories he had of them were infinitely precious. That is why he kept their family picture here where he could always see it, so that he would always be reminded of what his parents looked like.

He smiled as he gazed at his father's uniform appreciatively, proudly. And the other reason why he treasured this picture so much was because it had always reminded him of who his father had been. Because what he could remember most was that even as young as he was back then, he had already looked up to his father so much.

Lieutenant Shinohara had been his very first hero.

He quickly shook his head to clear his thoughts of the last remnants of nostalgia as he gently placed the frame back down on the headboard. Unwittingly, his gaze traveled over to the other end of the headboard, where _another_ picture frame was resting. He smiled. Being orphaned at an early age, following in the father's footsteps… these were just some of the many things he had in common with _her_.

He stood up and slowly walked around his bed to the other side. He wasn't sure why he kept the two pictures so far apart from each other, as if something bad would happen if the two came too close to one another. Was it because of fear? He pressed his lips together. Yes, perhaps it was. That… and guilt. Deep, unpardonable guilt.

He stopped in front of the frame. In many ways, this picture was much like the first one. Only this time, the father was not wearing a policeman's uniform. And there was only one child. A daughter. A little girl in glasses and pigtails.

He took the frame in his hands. He wasn't sure why he finally took it home with him after hiding it in his office for so long. He wasn't even sure why he hid it in the first place. Maybe it was because he couldn't bear looking at it. He couldn't bear seeing this man still smiling at him after everything that had happened. After everything he himself had done.

His father had been his first hero. The man in this picture… was his second.

For years, he worked, studied and trained hard to become the best policeman in the area – and the best employee in his _other _job. He had always told other people that the reason for his dedication was because he simply wanted to make himself stronger. And what he wanted, more than anything, was to make his father proud of him. Those people would smile at him sympathetically and pat his back in assurance, and they would always tell him that they admire the good, almost heroic intentions behind his actions.

What he never admitted to them – and sometimes, even to himself – was that he also did this for another, covert reason. He wanted to fulfill his lifelong goal, the burning desire that consumed him since the death of his parents.

Revenge.

The man in this picture was someone he knew so well. A man whom he had felt so much love for… and so much hate.

"It's been a long time," he said quietly. "Yamaguchi Kyosuke."

* * *

"No."

"Come on, Kumiko-chan… please? Just a little bit longer…"

"_NO_. I can't take any more of this, Kawashima-sensei!"

An exasperated sigh. "Why are you making such a big deal out of this?"

"I blame you for this, Fujiyama-sensei! This was _your_ idea!"

"Hmph. This is for your own good, you know. In fact, you should be thanking us for all the effort we're making, Yamaguchi-sensei!"

"I think I can handle this myself thank you very much."

"Oh yeah? And do you remember what happened the last time you tried to do this _on your own_?"

Muttered curses followed.

A soothing voice. "It'll be over in a moment, Kumiko-chan, I promise. Now hold still…"

A short, quiet moment. Then—

"OUCH!"

"I _told _you to hold still!"

"Switch places with me and let us see _you_ try to hold still!"

"Argh! This is going to be impossible!"

"Want me to tie her up, Kawashima-sensei?"

"Oh don't you dare do that to me, woman! _Don't you dare_!"

"Want me to gag her too?"

"Not if I make _you_ shut your trap first, _Fujiyama_."

"_Please_, Kawashima-sensei?"

Another exasperated sigh. "No, that won't be necessary, Shizuka-chan."

A low growl. "You two aregoing to be _so _sorry you ever dragged me here just so you can—"

"Mama?"

All three women blinked and raised their head at the small voice that suddenly piped up.

"What's happening, Mama?" A little boy peeked from behind the partly open door as he rubbed his fist against his eyes sleepily. "Why are you yelling?"

"Yuuta!" Kikuno rushed over and kneeled in front of him. "Why are you awake? I thought you were taking a nap."

Her adopted son pouted at her. "I couldn't sleep. Mama and her friends were being so _loud_," he complained.

Kikuno laughed at that. "Sorry… Mama will try to keep her voice down from now on." She turned her head slightly. "And so will Fujiyama-sensei and Yamaguchi-sensei," she added pointedly in a louder voice.

Yuuta cocked his head to one side. "Are they fighting with you, Mama?"

"No, no, Yuuta-kun," answered Shizuka with a smile. She walked over to the young boy and ruffled his hair affectionately. "Mama and I were just helping Yamaguchi-sensei here get ready for the school dance we're going to later."

Yuuta blinked at her. "Oh. So you were helping Yamaguchi-sensei? I thought you and Mama were torturing her or something." He scratched his head. "It sure sounded like it."

"That's because they _were_," a sullen voice muttered in the background.

Kikuno smiled tightly. "Yes, Yuuta, we're _helping_ Yamaguchi-sensei," she said emphatically, making sure the woman behind her heard it. "It's just that she's not used to dressing up _the right way_."

"_Oi! I resent that!_"

"That's why," said Shizuka as she leaned closer to whisper, "When you look for a girlfriend, Yuuta-kun, make sure she's knowledgeable in the ways of women, unlike Yamaguchi-sensei here."

Kikuno bumped Shizuka's shoulder with hers. "Yuuta's still too young to think about that stuff, Fujiyama-sensei!" she reprimanded. She turned to smile at her son. "Yuuta, Mama still has to finish her work here. You just go have dinner with Ojii-chan and Obaa-chan. Be on your best behavior while they're here, okay? I'll tuck you in later when I get back from the dance."

Yuuta grinned. "Okay, Mama!" he said before he raised his arms, signaling that he wanted to be carried.

Kikuno chuckled and hoisted her son up into her arms. As Yuuta threw his arms around his Mama's neck, he finally had a chance to take a good look at the woman behind them, who had been obscured from his view until now. She was sitting amidst a chaotic assortment of jewelry, make-up and numerous hair contraptions, and she grinned at him when their eyes met.

"Hey there, Yuuta-kun," said Kumiko with a small wave.

All three women were surprised when the boy suddenly let out a loud cry. His eyes widened, his mouth dropped open, and he pointed a finger at the startled Section 3-C adviser.

"Ya-Yamaguchi-sensei…" Yuuta managed to stutter. "Looks… looks like…"

_Oh no,_ thought Kumiko with growing dread. _This can't be good. What did these women do to me?_

"…looks like a _girl_!" the boy finished in shock.

Kumiko blinked.

Shizuka smirked. "Yes, finally."

"A _pretty _girl!" Yuuta added in awe as he grinned widely. "And she normally doesn't look that way!"

Kumiko wasn't sure whether the boy was complimenting her or insulting her. She forced a smile. "Er… thank you, Yuuta-kun."

"Yes, Yuuta," said Kikuno as she glanced briefly over her shoulder and grinned. "The impossible has finally been achieved."

Definitely insulting her. Kumiko scowled. "There's no doubt you two are mother and son. You have the same annoying grin," she deadpanned.

Kikuno laughed. "That's why I'm proud of my little boy!" she said as he ruffled her son's hair. She walked over to the door and opened it fully before she set him down on his feet. "Now run along, Yuuta. Tonight, this room is for women only."

Shizuka snickered. "Then why is Yamaguchi-sensei in here? Ow!" she cried out when the make-up sponge that Kumiko threw at her hit her on the cheek. "What was _that _for?!" she demanded angrily.

Kumiko smirked. "Your face could use some make-up."

"And since when were _you_ the expert on make-up?"

"Women… that are acting like children." Kikuno muttered as she rolled her eyes. Yuuta giggled. She smiled and kissed him on the forehead. "I'll see you later, okay? Now go downstairs and join your grandparents."

"Yes, Mama," said Yuuta before he proceeded to hop down the stairs. Kikuno waved at him one last time before she closed the door.

"Tell me, Kawashima-sensei," said Shizuka through gritted teeth as she pointed an accusing finger at Kumiko. "Why are we doing this for _her_ again?"

Kikuno smirked. "If I remember correctly, Shizuka-chan, this was _your _idea," she said as she walked over towards them.

"Mattaku," Shizuka muttered. "I have those two men to blame for this."

Kumiko's eyes narrowed. "Who are you talking about?"

Kikuno elbowed Shizuka sharply in the ribs before the English teacher could answer. "That's really none of your concern, Kumiko-chan."

"You could have been gentler, you know," Shizuka hissed as she clutched her side painfully.

"Let's just get this over with," Kikuno whispered back. She flashed a big smile at Kumiko, who was already watching them with suspicious eyes. "Now let's finish doing your hair, Kumiko-chan."

_That_ successfully diverted the math teacher's attention. "You mean you two aren't done yet?"

Shizuka scowled. "If you had just shut your mouth and quit fidgeting so much, we would have been done ages ago. _Don't—_" Shizuka raised a finger warningly when Kumiko opened her mouth to protest. "—start again."

Kumiko glared daggers at the older women, but to their relief, she finally kept silent.

Kikuno smiled and immediately started fussing over Kumiko's hair. "Hand me those hairpins, Shizuka-chan."

They should have known the Section 3-D adviser would never shut up for long. "What?!" Kumiko burst out. "How many more of _those_ do you still have to use? You must have already shoved a whole box of 'em into my hair!"

"Not really a whole box," Kikuno mumbled distractedly as she poked at Kumiko's hairdo. "About half, I think."

"Because you broke the other half with all your fidgeting," added Shizuka as she peered into Kumiko's face. "Hmm, I still have to do some finishing touches on the make-up. Pass me that blush-on, Kawashima-sensei. And oh, I'm going to need that lip liner too."

Kikuno complied. "What about this eyeshadow?" she added as she showed Shizuka a certain container.

The English teacher shook her head. "It's not really her color."

"Yeah, you're right." Kikuno picked up another container. "I think this one's better."

"Ooh, that's exactly the perfect shade for her dress," Shizuka clapped her hands excitedly. "Hand it over."

Kumiko looked back and forth at the two women as they spoke, unable to comprehend what they were saying. _It's like they're speaking another language. _She squirmed restlessly in her seat. _And_ _I'm really starting to have a bad feeling about this. _

The two women finished her hair and make-up with a flourish, and they both squealed in delight at the outcome of their work.

Kumiko sighed exasperatedly. "Are we _finally_ done?"

"Not yet." Kikuno walked over to the closet and opened it before she took something out. "You still have to wear this dress."

Shizuka opened a jewelry box and showed the contents to the Section 3-C adviser. "With these."

Kikuno laid the dress on her bed before she took out a shoe box and opened it. "And these."

Kumiko gawked. Now _this _was quite unexpected. "Wait, how did you— I mean, why did you—"

"Thank heavens we knew your size. We bought the dress, of course, as well as the shoes," Shizuka cut her off. "Your twisted sense of fashion simply could not be trusted."

"B-But—"

"And the jewelry are mine and Fujiyama-sensei's," Kikuno added. "We're just lending them to you, so don't you _dare_ lose them."

"_But_—!"

"Quit your jabbering, Yamaguchi-sensei. Like I said, we're doing this for you," said Shizuka as she helped the dumbstruck Section 3-D adviser to her feet. "Although you _do_ have to pay us back for the money we spent on the dress and the shoes."

"Hai, hai," said Kikuno. "With interest, of course."

Shizuka nodded. "Of course."

Kumiko's eyes widened as the two women's hands were on her again. "W-Wait…! What are you—" And before Kumiko could protest any further, the two women started to strip her of her clothes, unheeding her loud complaints of modesty and propriety. Left with no other choice, Kumiko complied as the older women helped her into the newly-bought dress. Kikuno made the final adjustments on it and Shizuka clipped the jewelry into place as Kumiko awkwardly slipped her feet into the shoes. Then the two women stepped back, crossed their arms over their chest, surveyed the blinking math teacher critically, and finally nodded in satisfaction.

"You gotta admit, Kawashima-sensei. We are _good,_" said Shizuka proudly.

Kikuno grinned. "Oh yes. We are _very_ good."

Kumiko huffed and placed her hands on her hips. "Would you two mind if I judge for myself? May I _finally_ see myself in the mirror? What's with all the suspense, anyway?"

Kikuno and Shizuka each took one of Kumiko's arms as they led her towards the full-body mirror at the corner of Kikuno's room. It was the revolving kind, and Kikuno reached out to turn it over. "What's with the suspense?" She smiled. "It's simply so you could see…"

Shizuka turned Kumiko around. "…Your transformation."

Both women let go and stepped back.

And the Section 3-D adviser could do nothing but stare.

"This…" Kumiko slowly stepped forward. "Couldn't _possibly _be me."

Kikuno smiled. "Yes, dear. It _is_ you."

Wordlessly, Kumiko reached out a hand to touch the mirror. The surface felt smooth and cool under her fingertips. She saw her reflection mimicking the same actions, and her eyes widened. It was only then when she finally realized that her eyes truly were _not _playing tricks on her.

Shizuka smirked at the look on the Section 3-D adviser's face. "Say something, will you?"

Kumiko gave a start as she was jolted back to reality. "I-I… I look…" her voice caught in her throat. She swallowed and tried again. "I look…" It was no use. Words utterly failed her. She looked at the reflections of the two women behind her, and they both grinned at her.

"Perfect," they said in unison.

* * *

"Shin, my man! You are lookin' _fine_!" 

He had been walking towards the entrance of Shirokin Gakuen's gymnasium when he heard the familiar voice. He turned around and eyed with raised eyebrows the maroon collared shirt, cream-colored coat and pants and black shoes his friend was wearing. He had to smile. "Thanks. And you're not looking half-bad either."

Minami grinned. "Wow. That's the closest thing to a compliment that I've heard from you." He had tied his shoulder length hair back in a low ponytail, with a few strands falling over one side of his face. Shin smirked. Even he had to admit that Minami was absolutely debonair looking like that. A couple of girls from Hanasho Gakuen were already eyeing Minami interestingly as he walked over towards him.

A hand clapped Shin on the shoulder. "Yare, yare… looks like Minami's finally getting the attention he wants from the women."

He turned his head to look at the boy who appeared beside him. Shin blinked. "Uchi…"

His friend cocked his head. "What?"

"Your hair…" Shin wasn't sure what exactly he should say, so he just settled for the obvious. "It's black."

"Yeah, I've noticed too," Minami added. "You dyed it?" Minami added.

Uchi ran a hand through his hair, suddenly conscious and embarrassed of the attention on him. "Yeah, well… I figured it might be good for a change." He shrugged. "I look okay, don't I?"

Shin gave him the once-over. Uchi was wearing a midnight blue vest over a periwinkle shirt, as well as a black coat, black pants and black shoes. "Yeah," said the Section 3-D leader as he slowly smiled. "In fact, I think it suits you." And it really did. The dark hair that framed the sides of his face took away the usual air of juvenile mischief in his aura and replaced it with an image of a dashing young gentleman.

"Whoa!" Minami exclaimed as he threw an arm around Shin's shoulder. "What's with you, man? You're not being a jerk tonight!"

"Hey," Shin complained good-naturedly. "For your information, I'm a _nice _jerk."

Uchi laughed at that. "A nice, _handsome_ jerk at that. With Shin by our side," he said as mimicked Minami's actions and placed his arm over Shin's shoulder. "We're gonna score high with women."

"Well don't score them without me!"

Minami turned his head and grinned. "Ooh. Lookin' _suave,_ Noda," he said appreciatively.

"Colorful, yes," said Uchi with a smirk. "But suave, nonetheless."

Shin chuckled as Noda walked towards them with a small salute. His artistic friend sure pulled out all the stops. He was wearing normal black shoes and a normal navy blue coat and matching pants, but it was his collared shirt that really stood out. It was an unusual shade of red violet, patterned with thin diagonal stripes of lavender and powder pink. It was a fashion risk that only someone like Noda can pull off and actually look good in.

"I have to admit," said Shin with a small smile as Noda reached them. "You have really outdone yourself this time."

Noda grinned at him. "I'm not used to you being so nice, but then again, I'm not complaining." He stepped back and surveyed Shin slowly. "Man. You look _good_. How can _we_ compete with _that_?" he said as he gestured at Shin's outfit.

"Shut up," was what Shin said, though he was smiling. He had never really learned to take a compliment with grace.

Noda chuckled before he noticed Uchi. "Hey man," he said. "The hair suits you."

Uchi grinned. "Thanks."

"Guys!" Minami suddenly cried out. "Look at _Kuma_!"

Noda turned and laughed. "Check it out! The big boy's lookin' _fine_!"

"Kuma, my man!" Uchi waved ecstatically. "We're here!"

Shin broke into a wide smile when he saw his best bud. He cupped his hands around his mouth and called out, "You look good, Kuma! You look _really _good!"

"Shin-chan! Guys!" Kuma called back as he grinned and waved at them before he jogged towards them.

"I can't believe Kuma was able to put that outfit together," said Uchi with an amused shake of his head.

"Yeah, and it looks good in him too," added Noda with a nod.

Minami chuckled. "And you gotta admit, Kuma looks really…"

The three looked at each other and grinned. "…_Kawaii_!"

Shin couldn't help it. He laughed out loud at that remark. His portly friend was wearing an olive green vest over a light yellow shirt, as well as matching light brown coat and pants and dark brown shoes. With that grin of his, Kuma looked like a big young kid in a formal suit, and Shin couldn't stop smiling at the sight of him.

"Wow guys," Kuma said in awe as he reached them. "You all look pretty handsome in your suits."

It was only then when Shin noticed that none of them wore neckties. He smirked. He should have expected as much. With personalities such as theirs, neckties would only be too constraining.

"Hey, Uchi," Kuma piped up. "I like your new hairdo."

"And you, big boy, look so _cute_!" Noda squealed as he pinched Kuma's cheeks amidst the latter's loud protests.

Minami laughed. "I'm sure the women can't wait to get their hands on you, little Kumai."

"Then we'd have to stick close to him," said Uchi he threw an arm around Kuma. "As well as to this heartthrob over here," he added as he clamped a hand on Shin's shoulder.

He had the grace to blush. "_Shut up_. I'm not a heartthrob."

"Not a heartthrob?" Minami repeated as he rolled his eyes. "Don't you see how the girls couldn't take their eyes off you since you arrived? Don't you see how many they _are_?"

Uchi laughed as he playfully punched Minami on the arm. "Don't worry too much. I'm sure Shin will teach us how to charm the ladies, ne, Shin?"

He turned his back towards them. The corners of his mouth twitched as he tried to stop himself from smiling. "No, I won't."

"What!" All three boys exclaimed. "No fair!"

He ducked his head as his shoulders shook with suppressed laughter.

"Hey, Shin-chan…"

He looked up and blinked at Kuma, who was standing in front of him. "What is it?"

Kuma cocked his head to one side as he surveyed Shin's outfit. "I didn't expect that this would be something you'd choose to wear," he said with a small smile.

He looked down to gaze at his clothes. His choice of outfit _was _kind of unusual. He was wearing a sky blue turtleneck inside a light gray coat, with matching gray pants and gray shoes. His usually messy hair fell in neat waves to frame his face. He wore around his neck a simple silver chain with a single kanji as a pendant, which fell halfway between his chest and his stomach. There was a reason why he chose to wear that necklace tonight, although he wasn't ready to share that to any of his friends yet. Even to Kuma.

The other three boys were busy surveying the girls arriving in the area. He could hear them arguing loudly with each other about which girl should dance with whom later. He turned to his best bud, suddenly self-conscious. "Why are you surprised that I chose to wear this?"

"I'm not really _that _surprised," said Kuma. "It's just that you usually preferred dark colors. Like you're always in a dark mood or something." He suddenly smiled widely. "Ever since Yankumi came, you seem to smile a lot more. I'm sure she'll be glad to see you're not in dark colors anymore."

The sudden mention of her name was something he did not quite expect. He turned away to avoid Kuma's eyes. His normally dim-witted friend was highly perceptive when it comes to him. He should've known that Kuma would notice something like that. Then again, he could never deny it anyway. He couldn't deny how his world suddenly seemed much brighter when she came, how the weight of his problems suddenly seemed much more bearable and how his past sins suddenly seemed much more forgivable. He could never deny how much her simple presence brought him so much happiness. And for the longest time, he thought that joy would last. That was what he believed… before that incident with that damn policeman, that is.

And for the umpteenth time that week, he felt his heart wrench painfully.

"Hey guys, I just remembered," Noda suddenly spoke up. "Have the teachers arrived yet?"

Uchi smirked. "Looking for Fujiyama-sensei again?"

"No!" Noda said a bit too quickly. "I'm just wondering, that's all," he mumbled.

Minami laughed. "I'm sure she'll be arriving soon," he said as he winked at Noda. "All the other teachers are here. The only one's missing are Fujiyama-sensei, Kawashima-sensei and Yankumi."

"I wonder what's taking those three so long…" Uchi muttered as he craned his neck to look over the quickly thickening crowd pouring inside their school's gymnasium.

"Ah!" Kuma suddenly cried out. "There they are!"

All the boys turned towards the direction Kuma was pointing.

"Whoa," breathed Uchi. "Look at Kawashima-sensei."

All the men in the area turned to gaze admiringly at the spunky woman approaching the gymnasium's entrance. She walked with a confident stride, seemingly oblivious to all the male attention on her. Shin raised his eyebrows amusingly. He had to give her credit for her unique sense of fashion. The Shirokin nurse was wearing a red off-shoulder dress, with thin black sleeves, black lace overlay and a basque waistline. The a-line skirt of her dress fell to just above her ankles, and on her feet were black strapped sandals with red faux jewels. On her ears were large gold earrings that matched the gold necklace she wore, and on her wrist jingled multiple gold bangles. Her hair was parted on one side to fall over one eye, and the tips of her hair were curled into many little ringlets. She looked like a cross between a fairy tale character and a punk princess, funky and stylish all at once.

"No," said Minami as he tapped Uchi on the shoulder. "Look at _her_."

Judging from the way Noda suddenly looked so dumbstruck, Shin didn't even have to ask who Minami was referring to. He smirked. The ever-popular Fujiyama-sensei has arrived. He turned to look at her — and he immediately blinked at how much she was revealing such an amount of… _skin_.

The English teacher was wearing a peach halter dress, which sheath design clung tightly to her curvaceous body. It also had a semi-plunging neckline, one that was high enough to ensure that Kyoto-sensei wouldn't hyperventilate and send her home with a warning on censorship, but also low enough to leave little to the boys' imagination. It had slits up to her thighs on both sides, so that everyone would have a teasing glimpse of her long, creamy legs as she slowly, gracefully walked. It was also backless, and all the boys could see the smooth, flawless skin she bared behind her. The plain fabric of her dress was offset by the elegant jewelry she wore: pearls studded her ears and were wound around her wrist, and on her neck were two layers of pearl chokers. Even her hair, which was pinned back from her face in delicate twists, was woven with pearls. On her feet were white high heels. She looked sweetly and elegantly sexy.

Shin rolled his eyes when he saw the men openly gawk at the English teacher when she passed by them. She would give them a small wave, bat her eyelashes at them and smile coyly. Unlike Kawashima-sensei, Fujiyama-sensei was well aware of all the male attention on her, and she gladly basked in it. He turned around to walk away.

"Oh kami…" Noda breathed. "Who is _that_? She's breathtaking!"

"It's like she walked right out of a cover of a magazine," said Minami in awe. "She's _gorgeous_!"

"I'm dreaming," murmured Uchi. "Either that, or I've died and gone to heaven, coz that's an angel walking right there."

"That's not an angel," Kuma suddenly said. "That's… that's…"

All four boys gasped. "…Yankumi?"

He had been ignoring his friends' comments as he walked, thinking that they were just talking about some other girl they saw arriving. When he heard who it was though, it was like a bolt of lightning suddenly struck him. His limbs felt suddenly numb. His mouth went dry. His heart pounded loudly in his ears. Slowly, ever so slowly, he turned around once more. And with a strange mixture of fear and anticipation coursing through him, he raised his head to look at her.

And in that moment, Shin forgot how to breathe.

She was truly a sight to behold. She was wearing a pale blue mermaid dress, which had an illusion yoke that started at the sleeveless mock neck and ended at the sweetheart neckline. Silver embroidery wound around her bodice asymmetrically, and it worked with the mermaid design in emphasizing her curves in all the right places; curves that had always been hidden in those manly clothes she usually wore. On her feet were dainty silver sandals. From her ears dangled silver earrings, and around her wrist was a simple silver bracelet. The top half of her hair was pulled away from her face and pinned at the back, accentuated with a glittering silver ornament. The rest of her hair fell in soft, delicate curls and waves over her shoulders and back. Her face was touched with just the slightest hint of natural make-up, and her lips were rosy and shimmering. She suddenly smiled, and it took his breath away.

_Uchi's right_, was his only random, scattered thought. _An angel has descended from heaven._

Shin inhaled sharply, for one could only go so long without oxygen. Still, he couldn't tear his gaze away from her, even as she walked towards him and his friends when she saw them. She wasn't jarringly gorgeous like the two women she had arrived with; she didn't look as chic and classy as Kawashima-sensei, nor as sensual and sophisticated as Fujiyama-sensei, but she radiated a simple elegance that was hers and hers alone. She was just… just…

"Beautiful. You're beautiful, Kumiko."

He felt his heart give a little twist. The words he yearned to say were spoken by another.

She smiled. "Thank you, Shinohara-san."

The policeman had stepped in front of Kumiko just before she reached them. He looked immaculate in his white suit and pants, black shoes, black shirt and white tie. It made him look more handsome than ever, and he radiated an aura of masculine charm. Nearly all the women in the area were eyeing him with interest as he made small talk with the Section 3-D adviser. Shin couldn't help but notice how the two look good together. He turned away.

"Sawada?"

It was the first time she spoke to him directly in days. He closed his eyes briefly before he turned his head slightly to look at her. "Yeah?"

She smiled at him again, and he could feel his insides melting. "You look great tonight," she said as she sidestepped Tomoya slightly. His friends looked at her strangely, and she seemed to have noticed how softly she had spoken, for she suddenly joked, "I'm glad to see you in a color other than black."

He blinked at her, unsure on how to react. "Thanks," was all he could say.

Tomoya smiled and offered her his arm. "Shall we go in, Yamaguchi-sensei?"

She seemed startled by this. She looked at the arm the policeman was offering before she turned to gaze at Shin. He stared back at her. He couldn't quite understand why he felt like she was silently asking him something. After a moment, she broke her eye contact with him and turned to smile at Tomoya before she took his arm. "Hai. Let's go."

And as Shin stared at her departing figure, he couldn't understand why he thought he heard disappointment in her voice, and why the smile she offered the policeman seemed forced.

"I told you so."

He turned to look at Kuma, who was watching the departing couple with a smile. "What?"

Kuma grinned at him. "I was right. Yankumi noticed."

Shin blinked several times before he got the drift of what his best bud was saying. "Oh. The clothes, you mean."

"Yeah." Kuma clapped a hand on his shoulder. "And you know, I think you look better in lighter colors anyway."

Shin looked at the couple one last time. Tomoya leaned over to whisper something in Kumiko's ear, and it made her laugh. He tore his gaze away from them.

"I don't know, Kuma," he murmured. "I suddenly wished I wore black anyway."

* * *

Hidden amidst the shadows, he flipped his cell phone open and dialed. He put it up to his ear and waited. The ringing stopped mere seconds later. His call was expected… anticipated. 

"Did you find him?" the person on the other end of the line immediately asked.

"Aaa," he answered. "He's here. And tonight's the best time to get even."

"Good. We'll proceed according to plan. Are the others with you?"

"Yeah, we're all here. Ready when you are."

"Very good. And what's the location?"

He eyed the well-dressed people going inside the building with a sinister smile. "Shirokin Gakuen."

* * *

_End of chapter seven_

* * *

**A/N:** Yes, I know. This chapter is remarkably shorter than the others. ;) The reason for that is because Chapters 7 and 8 were initially supposed to be a single chapter. But I realized that the chapter would then become _too _long (even longer than Chapter 6!), which is why I decided to separate the contents into two chapters. :) 

- shirotora-san

* * *

Japanese glossary: 

**Kawaii** – cute

**Obaa** – grandmother

**Yare yare **– a Japanese expression that expresses resignation or slight annoyance at the current situation


	8. The Way

**06 / 22 / 07**

_To those of you who opened this chapter first, __please see chapter one__ for the special message posted there. Thank you! _:)

* * *

**A/N: **This is my (horrid) attempt at writing WAFF. Major fluff ahead. Lots of it. And it may cause cavities. Don't say I didn't warn you. 

Sigh. My hands really do have a life of their own. No matter what I do, no matter how hard I try, I can _not _keep the chapters _short_. Gah. Someone please stop them before they go out of control.

Anyway, I think this chapter had already been long overdue. But I must say that I really, really, _really _worked hard on this one. I hope you guys enjoy it. :)

And oh yeah, there's an additional disclaimer below. Just so people out there won't have a reason to sue me.

That been said, on to the fic!

* * *

"**REWARD"**

A Gokusen Fanfiction

by shirotora-san

* * *

CHAPTER EIGHT

_**The Way**_

"You know, if you really want to dance with her, all you have to do is walk over there and _ask_ her."

Shin blinked and looked up at the woman smiling down at him. "Who are you talking about, Kawashima-sensei?"

Kikuno rolled her eyes. "Really, Sawada… that innocent act of yours won't work with me." She smirked at him. "You've been eyeing Yamaguchi-sensei all evening. Why don't you just get it over with and ask her to dance with you?"

Shin opened his mouth to protest, and Kikuno raised her eyebrows at him knowingly. He sighed. "Am I really that obvious?"

Kikuno laughed. "Not really. I guess you could say I'm just smarter than most women." She winked at him and smiled. "Do you mind if I join you?"

He arched an eyebrow. "Even if I _do _mind, you'd still join me anyway."

Kikuno grinned. "You know me well." She pulled up a chair and smoothed out her dress before she sat down beside him. The table was empty except for her and Shin. His friends were all on the dance floor with their newly-found girl partners from Hanasho Gakuen. They were laughing and openly flirting as they all moved in rhythm to a catchy techno tune.

"Hey Sawada," Kikuno began. "Do you know why people call this event a school dance?"

He looked at her. "Why?"

"Because people actually _dance_," she said pointedly. "And I have yet to see you do just that."

He shrugged as he leaned back in his seat. "Yeah, well… I just don't feel like it."

She raised her eyebrows at him. "So what's the point of coming to a school dance if you're not going to dance?"

"And what's the point of coming over to join me just to ask me that question?" he threw back at her.

Kumiko smiled, unaffected by his snappish tone. "Because I want to know why you simply refuse to ask Yamaguchi-sensei to dance with you, even though it's quite obvious you want to."

He sighed again. "And now we're back to that," he said in a resigned voice.

"Of course. You didn't think I'd let it go so easily now, did you?" She propped her elbows upon the table, and her bracelets jingled as she rested her chin on one hand to observe him musingly. "I don't know what's stopping you, Sawada. I've seen the way you look at her."

He couldn't believe he was really _that_ obvious. "I guess I'm just not used to her looking like _that_," he pointed out as he gestured to the Section 3-D adviser sitting several tables away. He smirked. "After all, she normally doesn't look like a girl."

"No, Sawada," Kikuno said gently. "I've seen the way you have _always _looked at her."

He turned to her in surprise.

"I envy her sometimes, actually," she said softly as her gaze took on a faraway look. "You've always kept yourself at a safe distance, Sawada, but even then, with the way you look at her, you protect her." She smiled. "I see how you always watch her, even when sometimes you pretend you don't."

He once again opened his mouth to protest, and she once again silenced him with another look. "I won't say how I can tell if you try to contradict me," the Shirokin nurse remarked coyly.

He glared at her. "Fine. _How_ can you tell?"

"I see your eyes crinkle in amusement whenever she does something funny. I see you roll your eyes whenever she becomes her loud, hyperactive self. I see your eyes narrow and grow alert whenever she's involved in some kind of danger. I see how you try to protect her, even though you know she can protect herself."

Kikuno smiled at the dancing crowd briefly before she turned back to their conversation. "I realize it only now, Sawada, but you watch her like I watch Yuuta. Like a mother watches her child."

"What do you mean?"

She fiddled with the napkins on the table. "I let Yuuta run around and play. Even if he falls down and scrapes himself, I let him get up by himself and dust himself off. Even though I want to protect him, even though I don't him to get hurt, I can't always meddle in everything he does. He has his own life to live. He's a growing boy, and I have to make sure he can make it in this world with or without me by his side." Her gaze turned pensive. "But then again…"

He looked at her for a long moment. "Then again…?" he gently prodded her.

"Then again… I'm still his mother. And I would always watch over him, even at a distance, just so he knows I'm here in case he needs me. Just so he knows he's still being protected and cared for. Just so he knows he's still loved." She turned to him. "And though our reasons may be different, I can see how you watch over Yamaguchi-sensei in the same way."

Shin looked away. Kikuno merely smiled and kept silent, letting the truth of her words sink in.

The DJ cranked the volume of the music louder, and cheers erupted from the dance floor as the people all swayed and moved to the beat.

"Kawashima-sensei," Shin said after a while. "May I ask you something?"

"You already did." Kikuno winked at him. "Ask me another question."

He blinked. "Er… right." He took a deep breath. "I know this is impossible, but… what if Yuuta's biological mother was still alive after all, and she suddenly decided to claim him?"

Kikuno gave a start. The question took her completely by surprise. "What exactly are you getting at, Sawada?"

He took a deep breath. "I know how much you love Yuuta, Kawashima-sensei," he began carefully. "But I'm sure his biological mother loves him too. And it seems only right that he should be with her." He raised his eyes to look at her. "Would you allow her to take him from you?"

She fell silent once more, and he couldn't make out the expression on her face. He mentally kicked himself for having asked such a personal question. "Never mind, sensei," he added quickly. "It's a stupid question. We both know something like that would never—"

"I'd fight for him."

He stared at her. "What?"

"I'd fight for him," Kikuno repeated as she met his gaze evenly. "Whether or not he rightfully belongs with his real mother, I'd still fight for him no matter what."

He furrowed his brows. "Why?" he couldn't help asking.

"Because I know he's happy with me, and I know he'll only cry when I'm gone." She smiled at him. "And because I know, just as he has proven time and again, that Yuuta would fight for me too."

Shin's eyes widened.

The techno music that was pounding from the speakers came to an abrupt stop. Soft, mellow sounds filled the air as the DJ played a slow love song. Several people walked off the dance floor; a few couples replaced them and they held each other as they slowly swayed in time to the music.

Shin blinked in surprise when the Shirokin nurse abruptly stood up. "Sawada," she stated. "Dance with me."

It sounded more like a demand. "But I'm not a good dancer," he protested feebly.

Kikuno grinned at him as she grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet. "I'll be the judge of that."

* * *

"You shouldn't be wasting your time just standing there, you know." 

The loud techno music blaring from the speakers nearly drowned out her voice. Tomoya turned to her and smiled. "Oh? And why do you say so, Fujiyama-sensei?"

"Because," said Shizuka with a coy grin as she approached him. "It's a shame that such a fine-looking, respectable young man such as yourself won't even give the single, available women in this room a chance to dance with you."

Tomoya chuckled. "Such words of flattery, sensei," he said modestly as he stepped aside to make room for her. He had been quietly observing the festivity for quite some time now, as requested by the Sawatari-san, and the English teacher's presence was a welcome reprieve from the monotony of his job. "Is there anything I can do for you?" he asked her.

"Mou," said Shizuka as she moved to stand beside him. "Can't a woman like me speak the truth without being accused of wanting something in return?"

He smiled at her apologetically. "Forgive me, Fujiyama-sensei. I meant no offense. I'm just simply wondering about the reason why I'm now being graced with the honor of your presence, when there are plenty of people here that will probably interest you more than I do."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You really are too nice sometimes, you know?" She leaned back against the wall of the gymnasium as she turned her attention to the crowd moving and swaying to the music on the dance floor. "I can't even imagine you getting angry at all."

He kept silent and merely followed her gaze. He wondered if she knew just how ironic her remark had been.

_Anger?_ He thought bitterly. _I've lived with it all my life._

"Aren't you even getting tired of it?"

He blinked. "What?"

She looked at him amusingly. "Aren't you even getting tired of just standing there and watching all these people here have fun without you?"

He chuckled. "It's all right, Fujiyama-sensei, really." He leaned against the wall beside her. "I'm not here to have fun anyway. I'm here to do my job."

"Which is?"

"To make sure these people have fun _safely_."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, Shinohara-san. You're so uptight." She leaned sideways on one of her shoulders so she could face him. "Relax. Loosen up. Have _fun_, for crying out loud.For once in your life, do something not because you _need _to, but because you _want_ to."

He merely smiled at her. "I'm not sure if I'm allowed to do that." _What I want… I must never have._

Shizuka huffed. "What's the worst that could happen?"

_Because what I want would be a sin for me to have_.

The DJ cranked the volume of the music louder, and cheers erupted from the dance floor as the people all swayed and moved to the beat.

_And yet…_

"Look, see," said the English teacher as she gestured towards the dancing crowd. "_They're_ having fun. What's wrong in joining them for a dance or two?"

_Whether or not it's right…_

She looked at him exasperatedly. "Won't you indulge yourself, for once?"

_I still want it._

His wandering gaze found _her. _He smiled tenderly. There she was. Still as beautiful as the day he met her. Still as untouchable as the day he found out who she was.

_I still want what is so wrong for me to have._

It didn't escape the Section 3-C adviser's notice, and she followed his gaze. She smiled sadly. "Yamaguchi-sensei looks beautiful tonight, doesn't she?"

_I still want… _her.

"Yes," he said softly. "She has always been beautiful."

_I'm sorry, father._

"Why don't you ask her to dance with you?"

He seemed surprised by this. "I… I can't do that," he started to say. "My job…"

"…is stopping from you from doing what you want." Shizuka laid a hand on his arm. "You want to dance with her… don't you."

She wasn't merely asking a question. She was stating a fact.

"Yes," he said quietly. "I do."

_I'm sorry… Kyosuke-sensei._

"Well," said Shizuka with an air of finality. "I can't let you do that."

That took him by surprise. "What do you mean?"

The techno music that was pounding from the speakers came to an abrupt stop. Soft, mellow sounds filled the air as the DJ played a slow love song. Several people walked off the dance floor; a few couples replaced them and they held each other as they slowly swayed in time to the music.

Shizuka smiled at him. "Because you," she said softly as she took his arm and led him away. "Have to dance with me first."

* * *

"Would an angel like you grant an unworthy human being like me the grace and honor to bask in your ethereal presence?" 

Kumiko arched an eyebrow at him. "That's a strange pick-up line, Noda," she said over the techno music blaring loudly from the speakers.

Noda smirked. "As if you're someone I'd _want _to pick up." He pulled up a chair and moved to sit down across the table from her.

"Wait a minute," said Kumiko suddenly. "What are you doing?"

He blinked at her as he froze halfway towards his seat. "Huh?"

She raised her chin at him and folded her arms across her chest. "The angel has not yet given you permission to invade her holy sanctuary." Her tone was demeaning, yet the corners of her mouth twitched into a smile.

Noda rolled his eyes as he sat down completely. "I should've known a little compliment like that would get into your head, Yankumi."

She laughed. "What was that for anyway?" She leaned forward and rested her arms on the table. "You know that it's not going to make me raise your grade in math."

He glared at her. "Unlike normal people, you just have to question an innocent compliment and not just simply accept it for what it is."

She smirked. "And unlike normal people, you just have to mask an innocent compliment with flowery words and not just simply say what you want to say directly."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine." He mimicked her position as he rested his arms on the table. "Kumiko?"

She raised her eyebrows at that. "Yes, Takeshi?" she said with an amused smile.

He stared directly into her eyes. "I think you're beautiful."

She blinked at him. "And I think you're drunk," she stated flatly.

"No, really," said Noda softly. "You _are_ beautiful."

It was the way he ignored her jibe that surprised her most of all. "T-Thank you," she stammered. "That was quite flattering, Noda. Although I'm sure you've already told Fujiyama-sensei that too."

He leaned forward towards her. "Perhaps," he murmured. "But right now, my eyes are not on her. My eyes are only on you."

And it was the way he was trying hard not to smile that gave him away. "You can charm a lady pretty well," she said with a smirk. "No wonder you're such a playboy."

He suddenly grinned. "You know me well, Yankumi." He exhaled loudly as he leaned back on his seat. "Though I have to admit that the real charmer among us is Shin. I really don't know how he does it, but he's _good_."

She fell silent at the mention of his name. Unwittingly, her gaze traveled over towards him.

_Perhaps he really _is _a charmer_, she mused as Noda's words played in her head. _And perhaps… I just happened to fall prey to his charms. I just happened to be one of his victims._

Noda followed her gaze. "Just look at him, Yankumi. He doesn't even do _anything _and the girls fall all over themselves when they see him." He threw his hands in the air exasperatedly. "How can he achieve that kind of effect just by dressing up?"

She pursed her lips at that. _'You look great tonight,'_ was what she told him earlier that evening. What a major understatement.

She had felt her heart stop the moment their eyes had met. He had stunned her with the way he looked so dashingly handsome tonight. Gone was the teenager she used to tease so much and whose hair she used to ruffle like some adorable little puppy. And in place of that temperamental little boy was a composed young man. The juvenile quality was still there, but it was now veiled in an aura of wisdom and maturity that he seemed to have suddenly acquired this past week.

Her brows furrowed. There was something else she noticed too.

Before, even during the times when he seemed indifferent or unassuming, his eyes were so alive; as if a fire was burning within them, fed by all the passion and emotion he kept at bay. It was a fire that grows into a roaring blaze whenever those people he cares for are in danger, as his protective instinct is roused. Whether he's laughing with his friends, smiling with his sister, or even when he's pretending not to have a care in the world, there's always a spark of life in his eyes.

Her hands that were resting on the table balled into fists. Now… his eyes have changed.

His eyes still had that spark. But it was slowly disappearing, like the dying embers of a bonfire. And she could feel it too, especially this past week. The warmth of his rapport and friendship was replaced with his cold indifference towards her. And the fire that used to burn so brightly in his eyes – especially whenever he looked at her – was slowly, but surely, fading.

'_Be careful, Kumiko,_' her grandfather's voice suddenly rang in her head. _'You may only realize how important the light of your moon is when it is already gone_.'

"Wow, now _that's _a real hot girl over there," Noda's voice suddenly broke through her thoughts.

She blinked at him, but he wasn't looking at her. He seemed distracted by some girl from Hanasho Gakuen who was currently on the dance floor. He grinned and rubbed his palms together in anticipation. "I think I'm gonna ask her to dance with me later."

Kumiko rolled her eyes. "Why are you here, anyway? Shouldn't you be out there on the dance floor, dancing and charming your way with the girls?"

He smirked at her. "I _was_ out there on the dance floor. But the girls couldn't get enough of me, and they were tiring me out. That's why I decided to rest for a while." He sighed despondently. "It's not easy being irresistible. It's a hard life."

"Try being a teacher," said Kumiko dryly. _Or a yakuza princess, for that matter._

Noda suddenly brightened. "Speaking of teacher," he said as his gaze roved around the place. He seemed to be searching for someone. "Have you seen… oh."

Kumiko blinked when Noda trailed off. A strange look came across his features then, something she couldn't quite place. It was somewhere between disappointment and hurt. She followed his gaze… and she finally understood when she saw them. Her eyes softened.

"You should ask her to dance with you," she said gently.

Noda tore his gaze away from them. He suddenly smiled at her, and the painful expression on his face was gone as soon as it had appeared. "Nah. She seems to be busy at the moment," he said nonchalantly. His eyes betrayed him though. His smile didn't reach his eyes.

Kumiko stared at him for a long moment. "Hey, Noda."

"Yeah?"

"Do you… do you still love her?"

The softness of her voice surprised him nearly as much as her strange and unexpected question. "Why do you suddenly ask me that, Yankumi?"

She offered him a small smile. "I can see how affected you are in seeing them together." She inclined her head towards their direction.

They both turned to gaze at them. At one corner of the gymnasium, the English teacher and the policeman seem to be engaged in a serious, intimate conversation.

"What about you, Yankumi?" Noda suddenly asked. "Aren't you affected at all?"

Kumiko blinked at him. "What do you mean?"

Noda looked at her strangely, as if the answer was supposed to be obvious. "Well, you like the Shinohara guy, don't you?"

She seemed startled by this. "W-Well yeah," Kumiko stammered. "I… I guess I _do _like him."

He arched an eyebrow at her. "You _guess_?" Noda repeated dubiously. "What, you suddenly changed your mind about him or something?"

Kumiko pursed her lips. She couldn't blame him for questioning her – even to her own ears, her tone didn't sound very convincing. She wasn't sure why his question surprised her so much. She wasn't sure why the answer didn't even occur to her in the first place.

Noda peered at her intently, and an impish grin suddenly spread across his lips. "Yankumi… is it another man?"

His teacher scowled at him. _That _was a question she'd rather not give an answer to – probably because she wasn't sure if she could provide one. Instead, she threw the question back at him. "And what about you? Did you suddenly change your mind about Fujiyama-sensei? Are you giving up on her?"

He didn't answer her at once. He turned to watch them again, and she, in turn, watched him silently. An uncharacteristic seriousness was etched across his face, and she suddenly felt that she was in no place to ask him such a personal question.

"Hey Yankumi," he said suddenly. "Are people really happy when they smile?"

She raised her eyebrows at that. It seemed that her student wasn't so keen on talking about matters of the heart either. His question was strange though. "Well, a smile is supposed to be a sign that you're happy, right?"

He seemed to ponder her answer seriously. "I loved seeing Fujiyama-sensei smile, you know," he said after a while. "And she smiles all the time too. She smiles at us whenever she's in front of the classroom, teaching. And a smile still appears on her face whenever she sees us, even outside the classroom. It's like we, her students, are her source of happiness."

Kumiko smiled. "I can understand that feeling."

"And it's flattering, really, to feel that we make her happy. That I make her happy." He said that last statement in such a soft voice that Kumiko had to move her chair closer towards him to hear him. "I think that's why I liked asking for her help in English after classes. It makes her happy. She's eager to teach, even to someone as stupid as me, and she seems to be happy in doing so. And it makes me happy too. Because even if I'm not as bright as Shin is, she's still so willing to help me out. She doesn't give up on me, and she believes in me so much. And I think… that's what first made me fall for her."

His sincere, if a bit awkward, profession of his feelings made Kumiko stare at him in awe. This couldn't be the brash and fickle playboy she had come to know. No… this was another side of Noda Takeshi, one that she never took the time to get to know better.

_It's the same…_

And out of the corner of her eye, she saw the person Kawashima-sensei was talking to a few tables away from them.

…_with _him.

"Her smile was the first thing that made me fall for her," Noda was saying, and Kumiko turned her attention back to him. "I guess it was just a petty crush at first. I mean, come on, with a face and a body like that, what kind of guy in his right state of mind would _not_ be attracted to her? Almost every guy in this school has a crush on her anyway."

She pondered that question for a moment. Did _he _like her too?

"But you know, Yankumi," Noda murmured. "I felt something else when I saw that sadness in her eyes."

"Sadness?" Kumiko repeated. "But I thought you said she smiles all the time."

His gaze took on a faraway look. "I left my English notebook in the classroom one time. I didn't realize it until we were already walking out the school's main gate. I told Shin and the others to go ahead, and I ran back inside the building to get my notebook back. Just as I was nearing the classroom, I was surprised to see that she was still in there."

"Were you guys Fujiyama-sensei's last class that day?"

"Yeah. I think she may have stayed longer in the classroom to finish her work or something," said Noda. "Anyway, I was so happy to see her there. I was even about to go inside to talk to her."

Kumiko cocked her head to one side. "So why didn't you?"

He turned to gaze directly into her eyes. "She wasn't smiling."

She blinked. "What?"

He turned away from her once more. "She was standing near the window when I saw her. She was staring at something I couldn't see, and she wasn't smiling."

Kumiko's brows furrowed. "Well, that's normal, isn't it? I mean, it wouldn't do for a person to smile all the time."

"It was her eyes, Yankumi," said Noda quietly. "I've never seen her eyes look so empty. And so lonely."

For a brief moment, she saw his own eyes mirror those same emotions. "Noda…"

He took a deep breath. "I realized something important right then and there," he said. "The happiness I always saw in her as a teacher… that was only a part of who she was. But that wasn't all she is."

He turned to gaze at them once more. "I've always seen her smiling as Fujiyama-sensei. But never, not once, did I see her smile as Fujiyama Shizuka."

Kumiko's eyes widened.

He suddenly chuckled. "It was a weird feeling, Yankumi. It was like something tightened somewhere inside my chest." His gaze softened. "But I knew what I wanted to do then. I wanted to take away that sadness in her eyes, so I could finally see her true smile. Not just the smile of a teacher, but the smile of the woman she is."

Silence fell between them for a moment. Their gazes shifted towards the dancing crowd, and they both smiled briefly at the festive scene they witnessed.

It was Kumiko who finally spoke up. "Were you able to take that sadness away?"

"What do you think? I nearly got her fired, didn't I?"

She pursed her lips at the bitterness in his tone. "Why did you do it, anyway?"

He shrugged as he leaned back in his seat. "I was angry," he said simply. "I was angry at her for throwing away the necklace I gave her. I was angry at her for throwing away my feelings just like that."

His look silenced her when she opened her mouth to protest. "But most of all, Yankumi… I was angry at myself."

The DJ cranked the volume of the music louder, and cheers erupted from the dance floor as the people all swayed and moved to the beat.

"I couldn't do anything for her, even as she does all she can for me as her student. I couldn't make her smile, even as she's the reason I smile each time I go to school. I couldn't make her choose me. I couldn't make her let me help her. I couldn't be the man she needed so she'd be able to truly smile." He paused to take a deep breath. "And I was angry about that. So angry, in fact, that I directed that anger towards her. And instead of taking away the sadness in her eyes… I only added pain to them."

He turned to look at Kumiko. "You asked me if I was giving up on her, right?" His gaze traveled over once more to the couple standing at the corner of the gymnasium. "That man seems to be the only one who's able to make her smile like that. And I'd rather see her truly smile…" His eyes softened. "…even if that smile is for someone else."

The techno music was in full blast now. The whole place seemed to jump at the intensity of the sound.

'_But now the power is cut off.'_

Her grandfather's voice rang once more in her head.

'_And you realize that the light shining on you at night was never real._'

The woman across the room smiled warmly at the man she was with.

'_And now you finally see the light that never left you._'

And Kumiko saw the boy beside her watch the couple quietly, the tenderness in his gaze a mixture of longing and acceptance, victory and defeat.

The look in his eyes was strangely familiar.

'_Kumiko… I think you're finally seeing your _real_ moon_.'

"How do you know?"

Noda blinked at her. "What?"

"How do you know that _he's_ the reason for her smile? That she was smiling for _him_?" Her eyes were locked intently on his, and Noda had never seen his homeroom adviser look so serious. "What if he wasn't the reason? What if she was smiling for _you_? What if _he _wasn't the one she needed, and it was you all along? If you give up on her now, if you back out of her life—" her gaze faltered for a moment, and she swallowed at the catch in her voice. "Then you would be taking away her smile… forever."

Noda stared at her. He couldn't be sure, but there seemed to be a double meaning behind her words. "Even if that were true, I wouldn't know now, would I?"

Kumiko's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

And again, her student looked at her as if she was missing out on a very important fact. "How would I know how she feels about me if she wouldn't tell me in the first place?"

'_What else is there… Yankumi?_'

Her eyes widened in sudden realization. That time at the rooftop… he wasn't telling her.

He was _asking _her.

The techno music that was pounding from the speakers came to an abrupt stop. Soft, mellow sounds filled the air as the DJ played a slow love song. Several people walked off the dance floor; a few couples replaced them and they held each other as they slowly swayed in time to the music.

"Jeez, how did we get so serious all of a sudden?"

Startled, Kumiko blinked when Noda stood up. He rolled his shoulders and shook his head, as if to dispel the somber aura that had settled upon their table in the last few minutes. He turned to her suddenly.

"Hey Yankumi, care to dance with me?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you want to dance with me so you could pretend I'm Fujiyama-sensei?" she joked.

"No." He smiled at her. "I want to dance with you because you're Yankumi."

"Oh?" She couldn't help but smile back. "And what's so special about my being 'Yankumi'?"

He seemed to think about it. "Hmm. Nothing, really," he said casually, and he burst out laughing when his teacher huffed in annoyance. "Just think of this as my way of saying thank you for listening to me." He winked and offered a hand to her.

"Idiot," she said as she took his hand and stood up. "You know I'd do anything for my students, even if it means listening to woebegone stories of your love life."

He smirked at her as they walked away from the table. "Well, at least we _have_ a love life."

"Hey! What was that supposed to mean?"

Noda laughed and pulled her close when they reached the dance floor. Kumiko was still grumbling under her breath, but she nonetheless placed her hands on her student's shoulders as they started to move in time to the music.

"But you know what, Yankumi?" Noda murmured near her ear.

She glared at him. "What?"

He looked into her eyes, and she saw no playful pretenses there. "You really are beautiful tonight."

This time, she knew without a doubt that he meant it. "You idiot," she whispered, and she dropped her head to hide her smile. "Thank you."

* * *

The class leader and the school nurse. 

The policeman and the English teacher.

The math teacher and her rebellious student.

From different places around the gymnasium, the three couples stood up and walked hand in hand towards the dance floor. They placed their arms around each other and swayed to the gentle music flowing from the speakers. They smiled at each other and held each other close, even though they all distinctly felt that there was something subtly wrong in the situation. And as the singer lovingly crooned the lyrics of the song, they all felt that they were dancing with the wrong person… that the one they held in their arms was not the one they truly wanted to hold and never let go.

_**There's something about the way you look tonight**_

Shin had to remind himself that the woman his friend was dancing with at the moment can beat the crap out of them in a blink of an eye. He had to remind himself that she has much more muscular power than the whole Section 3-D combined – and that she can be more idiotic than all of them combined too. He had to remind himself that she was loud, violent, obsessive, and the most un-refined and un-feminine woman he ever had the misfortune to meet.

In fact, he had to remind himself of all these things again and again as he watched her dance, because the way she looked tonight was slowly dissolving his image of her as an annoying, sweaty tomboy. Because in his eyes, before him, was a heavenly creature. An angel sent from heaven in the compact form of a small woman with a loud mouth, a twisted mind, and a big heart.

And he hated having that image of her. It made her seem all the more unreachable, all the more untouchable. And it made him feel all the more unworthy of her.

_**There's something about the way that I can't take my eyes off you**_

There was, however, another reason why he hated this heavenly image of her. True, she really was an angel, but one that was camouflaged in jerseys and tracksuits. He would often think to himself – with a satisfied feeling and a bit of pride – that he was the only one who can see her angel's wings underneath those manly clothes she wore. To him, she had been a saving angel in much more ways than he would have cared to admit. That was why before this night came, he could pretend.

He watched her smile as Noda whispered something in her ear. He looked away.

Before this night came, he could pretend he could have her. Because of the way she had looked and acted before, no one else would see her for the angel she truly was. And he could pretend that no one would take his angel away from him.

Tonight though, she looked just as an angel should. Breathtaking. Beguiling. Beautiful.

And he hated that. Because he knew, with the way she looked tonight, that he wasn't the only one who couldn't take his eyes off her.

_That man_ was watching her too. And _that man_ could take his angel away from him.

Forever.

_**There's something about the way your lips invite**_

He was watching her again.

It was a feeling as familiar as her own shadow. Constant, yet not unpleasant. In fact, it gives her a sense of security and comfort, knowing that he would always be there, watching her. She wondered if he knew that.

Kumiko looked past Noda's shoulder to gaze at him. Perhaps he did it deliberately, or perhaps it was simply chance, but he looked away just as their eyes were about to meet. Instead, he turned to gaze down at Kikuno, whom he held in his arms. He smiled and drew the older woman closer to him.

Something tightened inside her chest. The scene was terribly familiar. He had smiled at her like that. And he had held her in his arms like that. And afterwards… he had kissed her. Everything about him had been reflected in that simple kiss – passionate and powerful, yet careful and gentle.

In a simple kiss, she had discovered so many sides of him that she couldn't see before. And in a simple kiss, she found that she could evoke so many emotions and reactions from him. It was heady to know that he both desired and cared for her that much, and it showed in the way his lips moved tenderly over hers.

It was incredibly overwhelming. So much, in fact, that it frightened her.

_**Maybe it's the way that I get nervous when you're around**_

She was afraid of him. That much she was certain of. She discovered that surprising fact when he kissed her. She was suddenly so aware of him, of his presence in her life. She was suddenly aware of how he had always watched her at a distance, vigilant but never intruding. She was suddenly aware of how the sight of him being hurt could arouse a boiling anger in her, and of how a softly-voiced "Yankumi" from him could render such a control over her and immediately calm her nerves. And whenever Section 3-D would become just a little too much to bear, she was suddenly aware of how she would always look to the back of the classroom to see him offer her the gift of his small, encouraging smile.

She was afraid of him because suddenly, he was _everywhere_.It frightened her how much he had already been so deeply incorporated into her life, because she found that when she would look at the back of the classroom this past week and would only find an empty chair, she felt strangely incomplete. And she realized that she wanted him around. That she _needed _him around.

She was afraid of him because suddenly, she realized that the thought of living her life without him frightened her even more.

_**And I want you to be mine**_

Their lives had been tied together from the very beginning. It was as if they were meant to be together. As if she was meant to be _his._

He could only wonder if she felt the same way.

Tomoya shifted his hold on Shizuka before his eyes traveled over to _her._ She was dancing with one of her students, and the teenage boy was laughing as he held her close. A pang of envy shot through him. After that morning, he probably would never have another chance to have her in his arms like that. It was too much to ask for. Holding her felt too much like he was tainting her.

She didn't know him the way he knew her. She didn't know the truth the way he did, and how he suffered through the years because of it. And she didn't know that he knew more about her family than she herself ever did. If she did, he didn't know who would be more shamed between both of them.

That was why it felt so wrong to want her like this. It would be dishonoring his family… and hers.

_**And if you need a reason why**_

Fate must have had some sort of cruel amusement in intertwining the paths they took. Finding out who she was had been another stab to the silent pain he had been nursing over the years. And if she ever finds out who _he _was… he knew it would destroy her. Because the truth would ultimately destroy everything she had ever believed in.

And he should want that too. It would be the ultimate fulfillment of his revenge.

But then something happened. Something he didn't quite expect, something he hadn't counted on happening.

He didn't expect her to be the person he never wanted to encounter in his life. Yet at the same time, he didn't expect that she would the one to fill the emptiness that was his sole companion through the years. He didn't expect her to be the total opposite of who she was supposed to be. Yet at the same time, he didn't expect that she would be everything he had imagined her to be and more. And he certainly didn't expect that fulfilling his revenge would be so easy… and at the same time be so difficult.

He didn't expect to fall for someone he hated so much.

But he did.

_**It's in the way that you move me**_

"I'm sorry, Kawashima-sensei."

Shin was avoiding her eyes. Her brows knitted in confusion. "Hmm? For what?"

One of his arms let go of her briefly as he scratched his head in embarrassment. "I'm sorry you had to be stuck with me as a partner," he said, and she was amused to see him fidget self-consciously. "I told you, I'm not a very good dancer."

She chuckled. "Idiot," she chided him as his arm returned to her waist. "It's not a question of whether or not you're a good dancer."

Shin blinked at her. "What do you mean?"

Kikuno smiled and stepped closer towards him. "Any woman," she said softly. "Is lucky to be in your arms."

_**And the way that you tease me**_

"Hey Yankumi."

Kumiko raised her head to look at him. "What?"

Noda cocked his head to one side as he gave her the once-over. A slow, appreciative smile spread across his lips. "You know, you should dress like this more often."

"Oh?" she said as she arched an eyebrow at him. "And why would I want to do that?"

Her student grinned at her and pulled her closer in his arms. She didn't object. "Well," said Noda. "If you look this pretty everyday in class, who knows…"

And he leaned forward and pressed his forehead to hers. Kumiko blinked.

"One of us," he whispered with a knowing smile. "Might fall in love with you."

_**The way that I want you tonight**_

"You didn't tell me you were a pretty good dancer."

Tomoya smiled at her. "It's probably just because I'm dancing with such a pretty lady."

"Mou," said Shizuka. "You know I'd still dance with you even if you didn't try to impress me with your charms."

"But I wasn't trying to charm you, Fujiyama-sensei," said Tomoya, pretending to be hurt. It didn't quite work out, and the English teacher only rolled her eyes at him. He chuckled softly. "But really, sensei, I'm flattered. And I'm actually a bit curious as well." He pulled her closer. "Why do you say that you'd still dance with me?"

She smiled as she placed her hands on his shoulders. "Because you're a man that any woman would want to dance with."

_**It's in the way that you hold me**_

Shin arched an eyebrow at her. "So you actually consider yourself lucky for dancing with me?"

Kikuno grinned at him. "Of course I do. I'm dancing with the genius of Section 3-D. Not to mention the most sought after boy in the whole Shirokin High."

"Shut up," Shin muttered and looked away.

"Aww, you look absolutely _cute_ when you blush!" Kikuno squealed in delight and playfully pinched his cheek.

"_Shut up,_" he said again as he swatted her hand away. "I am _not_ cute."

He said that last part in such an indignant tone that she had to laugh. "Fine. You're not cute." She winked at him. "You're handsome. How does that sound?"

_**And the way that you know me**_

"Nice try," said Kumiko dryly. "But your charms aren't going to get me again this time."

Noda sighed exasperatedly. "Jeez, Yankumi. You _always_ doubt me. Why can't you get it through your head that sometimes, I _can_ be an honest person?"

She raised an eyebrow at that. "Uh… because you're not?" She smirked. "When it comes to women, at least."

"Hey," Noda pouted. "I'm hurt."

Kumiko laughed and ruffled his hair. "Sorry. I forgot that you have a fragile ego."

Noda scowled at her. "And I forgot that teachers like you don't really trust what we students say… even if we _are_ telling the truth."

_**When I can't find the right words to say **_

"I didn't know you were such a flatterer," said Tomoya with an amused smile.

Shizuka pouted at him. "Mou, Shinohara-san… you're accusing me again."

He chuckled. "That wasn't my intention, Fujiyama-sensei. I'm sorry." He smiled at her. "It's just that you really do have a way with words. Though I guess I shouldn't be surprised. It's just as expected from a clever language instructor like you."

She smirked at that. "Who's the flatterer now?"

He had to laugh. "I guess I kind of deserved that."

_**You feel it**_

""You don't have to."

Kikuno blinked at him. "What?"

Shin offered her a small smile before he looked away. "You don't have to flatter me with lies just to make me feel good about myself," he said quietly.

_**In the way**_

His teacher was now looking at him in such a strange fashion that Noda started to feel a bit nervous. "Hey, why are you staring at me like that?"

Kumiko opened her mouth, hesitated for a moment, and finally said in a small, almost embarrassed voice, "I didn't know you liked me, Noda."

_**You feel it in the way**_

"But really, Shinohara-san…" said Shizuka softly. "I want to thank you."

Tomoya looked at her curiously. "For what, Fujiyama-sensei?"

_**There's something about how you stay on my mind**_

"I'm offended that you'd think I'm a liar, Sawada."

Surprised at the sharpness of her tone, Shin turned his head to look at her. Kikuno stared back at him evenly, unflinchingly. They stopped dancing. The music went on, and the couples around them kept moving. She held his gaze in hers for a long moment. And then suddenly, she smiled.

"Thank you for dancing with me, Sawada… even if I did drag you out here against your will." She winked at him, and Shin blinked. "Thank you for giving me that privilege. I meant what I said you know."

"Kawashima-sensei…" Shin swallowed and tried again. "I'm—"

"Don't apologize," Kikuno immediately cut him off. "And don't think so lowly about yourself." Her tone softened. "When people say good things about you, sometimes, they _are_ telling the truth."

Shin wasn't prepared for what she did next. She grabbed hold of his collar and roughly pulled him downwards so she could face him eye to eye. "And that's why the next time you call me a liar, I'll make sure that it'll be the last thing you'll ever say. Got that?"

"H-Hai!" Shin sputtered, more out of surprise than actual fright.

She smiled sweetly at him before she took pity and let him go. "Now then… I think it's about time you give someone else the privilege of dancing with you." She raised her eyebrows at him. "Don't you think so?"

And she turned her head pointedly. He followed her gaze… and once again felt his breath get taken away.

His angel was waiting for him.

_**There's something about the way that I whisper your name when I'm asleep, oh girl**_

Noda felt like strangling her right there and then. "_No_, you idiot! I just said that _someone _from our class might fall in love in you! I didn't say it was _me_!"

"Pipe down, you moron!" Kumiko whispered fiercely as a few couples around them looked at them strangely. "You're being too loud!"

"Well, you didn't have to be too assuming!" Noda huffed.

"And _you _didn't have to be too defensive!" she shot back. She pursed her lips and looked away.

Noda blinked at her. He couldn't understand why she was _this _much affected by what he said. He stared at her for a long time. Then he stared at something behind her. His eyes widened for a moment. Then he finally understood. "Hey Yankumi."

She sighed loudly. "What is it now?"

He turned to her. "I said that someone from our class might fall in love with you, right?"

Kumiko blinked as he stepped back from her.

"I think…"

And very gently, he held her by her shoulders and turned her around. And over her head, Noda smiled at _him_.

"Someone already did."

_**Maybe it's the look you get in your eyes**_

Shizuka lowered her gaze. "I want to thank you for dancing with me. It really means a lot to me, especially because I know…" she trailed off, and she took a deep breath before she softly continued, "Because I know that you really wanted to dance with someone else."

He slipped his fingers under her chin and gently urged her to look at him. "You're a special person, Shizuka," said Tomoya softly, and her eyes widened at the use of her name. "And a lot of people know that. _I'm _the one privileged enough to have danced with you. I should be the one thanking _you_."

"Shinohara-san…" She gazed at him for a long time before she once again dropped her head. "Actually, I have a favor to ask of you."

Tomoya smiled at her. "Anything, sensei. What is it?"

"Would you…" She raised her head and looked directly into his eyes. "Would you please dance with Kawashima-sensei?"

The peculiarity of the request surprised him. "Fujiyama-sensei…"

Shizuka pressed her lips together in determination. "I know that she's probably not the want you really want to dance with," she said. "But even though she may not openly show it, Kawashima-sensei really wants to be with you. And she…" She lowered her eyes and said in softer voice, "She really cares for you."

_**Oh baby it's the way that makes me feel to see you smile**_

"She's been such a great friend, and I just want her to be happy. And you're the only one who could make her feel that way." Shizuka raised her head and gazed at him pleadingly. "Please, Shinohara-san. Give her a chance."

Tomoya stared at her for a long moment. Then his gaze was diverted by something behind her. A small smile appeared on his lips.

"I'll do as you say, Fujiyama-sensei," he said finally. "Under one condition."

Shizuka blinked at him. "And what condition is that?"

"That you do the same thing."

He turned and caught the young boy's eyes on them. Shizuka followed his gaze… and her eyes widened.

Tomoya smiled. "That you give someone a chance as well."

_**And the reasons they may change**_

She watched curiously as he weaved in and out of the crowd and slowly made his way towards them. He finally stopped in front of her. But she wasn't the one he spoke to first.

"Sawada-kun."

The boy he addressed tore his gaze away from something – or someone – that had caught his eye. Shin looked at him, but didn't say a word.

Tomoya smiled and turned to him anyway. "May I have your permission to dance with Kawashima-sensei?"

Kikuno's eyes widened.

The two men looked at each other for a long moment. It was Shin who broke the eye contact as he sighed. "If Kawashima-sensei wants to dance with you, then I don't mind." And to both Tomoya's and Kikuno's surprise, Shin turned to smile at her. "Thank you, sensei, for spending a moment of your time with me."

She couldn't help but smile back. "It was time well spent, Sawada-kun. Thank you too."

Tomoya held out his hand and bowed slightly. "Then may I have the honor of dancing with you, Kawashima-sensei?"

Kikuno smirked at him. "You're too damn formal," she said as she took his offered hand.

The policeman smiled and started to lead her away.

"Oi, Shinohara."

_**But what I'm feeling stays the same**_

Tomoya stopped and stood still for a long time. Kikuno blinked at him. And then slowly, he turned around and smiled. "Yes, Sawada-kun?"

The boy held the older man's gaze in his as he spoke. "She chose you," he said quietly. "So please… take care of her."

No one was quite sure of what he truly meant by that, or who he was really talking about. And yet, as if he understood perfectly, Tomoya inclined his head in acknowledgement. "I will."

_**It's in the way that you move me**_

Her eyes widened. "You don't mean… but he can't be… and _I _can't be…" She swallowed, at a loss for words. "How do you know?" she finally asked him.

He didn't answer at once. Instead, Noda gazed at the other boy quietly. He was watching the older man lead the woman he had been previously dancing with onto another area of the dance floor. But he did not watch her for a long time. Slowly, the boy turned to them once more… just as Noda predicted he would. Their gazes met briefly. But that was all it took. He understood.

And Noda smiled.

"You know, Yankumi, for Section 3-D, you had always been special."

Her head snapped towards him at that unexpected statement. "Special?" Kumiko repeated.

"There's an unspoken agreement among us guys. It's kind of like a deal. You protect us, and we'll protect you. And although they'd rather be declared gay than ever admit something like this to you…" Noda grinned at her as her eyes widened in surprise. "The guys would do just about anything for you."

She didn't know what to say. "Noda…"

"But you know," he continued softly as he turned to gaze at someone behind her. "There's one guy among us that seems to be willing to do even more."

_**And the way that you tease me**_

She lowered her gaze, refusing to see for herself who her student was looking at. Somehow, she already knew who it was. "Why?"

Noda tilted his head to one side. "I'm not sure. Perhaps he has his own reasons."

"No, I mean…" Kumiko raised her head to look at him. "Why are you so sure that I'm really that special to him?"

He stared at her for a long moment. Then he broke into a smile. "Haven't you seen it, Yankumi? Didn't you ever feel it?"

And Noda turned to look at the other boy once more. Kumiko followed his gaze… and somehow, finally, she understood as well.

"Look, Yankumi. Even now, he watches you. He had always watched you." Noda's gaze softened. "And even now… he has eyes only for you."

_**The way that I want you tonight**_

A hand tapped him on the shoulder. Slightly annoyed at the wrong timing, he turned around to tell the person off. When he saw who it was though, the words died on his lips. He froze, enchanted by the beauty that stood before him.

Shizuka smiled at him. "Well? Aren't you going to ask me?"

"A—" Noda swallowed at the catch in his voice. "A-Ask you?"

She folded her arms over her chest and pouted. "To dance with you. Are you going to ask me or not?"

He could only blink dazedly at her. "What?"

Shizuka rolled her eyes. "I figured you wouldn't make the first move." She turned to smile at the woman the boy was with. "You don't mind, do you, Yamaguchi-sensei?"

_**It's in the way that you hold me**_

Kumiko looked at her student, who suddenly seemed to have lost the ability to speak. She peered at him closely. His brain seemed to have stopped functioning too. She sighed and elbowed him sharply, making him stumble. "Oi."

Noda glared at her as he recovered his footing. This woman doesn't know her own strength, sometimes. "Watch it," he grumbled.

She raised her eyebrows at him. "She's smiling now, isn't she?" She inclined her head towards the other woman.

Noda's eyes widened.

Kumiko smiled at him. "Now's your chance to know who's it really for."

Shizuka blinked as the Section 3-D adviser turned to her. "The boy's all yours, Fujiyama-sensei." She smirked. "Just don't corrupt his mind with your wily ways. He may not look it, but he's an innocent one."

The Section 3-C adviser arched an eyebrow. "Don't worry. I think you've already corrupted him enough, Yamaguchi-sensei." She smiled at the boy. "Since you don't seem inclined to talk, I'll be the one asking you then." She stepped closer to him. "Will you dance with me, Takeshi?"

He lowered his gaze. "Fujiyama-sensei… I…"

_**And the way that you know me**_

Yet even though his head was bowed, he couldn't hide the smile that came across his lips. "Thank you. And I will."

She laid a hand gently on his arm. He looked up and blinked.

"We're not in the classroom anymore, Takeshi," she said softly. "I'm not your teacher and you're not my student. And that's why, for tonight…"

Noda held his breath.

"…you can call me Shizuka."

And she smiled at him.

_**When I can't find the right words to say **_

As she watched her student lead the older woman away onto another part of the dance floor, she felt something constrict inside her chest. It was a strange sensation. She knew she felt genuinely happy for both of them. Yet at the same time, she felt overcome by a deep, consuming sadness. It wasn't exactly jealousy, or even envy. It was a sense of emptiness and longing, like a cavernous hole in her heart that was waiting to be filled. And the feeling was magnified by the way she stood alone amidst the couples dancing slowly to the music around her.

She turned around to walk away from it all. And it was then that she felt gentle fingers slip tenderly, tentatively through hers.

_**You feel it in the way, oh**_

She didn't even have to turn around and look behind her to see who it was. By now, everything about him was familiar to her. Even his touch. It was as it had always been – careful and gentle. And she didn't even have to look in his eyes to see the passion and power in them as he waited for her to react to the gentle invasion of his presence.

Noda was wrong. She had_ always_ seen the way he watched her, had _always_ felt the way he watched her. She just never acknowledged it before. She refused to recognize the way his eyes caress her tenderly at a distance, refused to recognize the fire burning in his eyes for what it was… and for who it was burning for.

She turned her head sideways and saw the way his fingers were entwined loosely in hers. And almost immediately, she felt the pain inside her chest cease. A small smile crept across her lips. Her heart seemed to know instinctively when it found what it was missing.

He was watching her again. It was a feeling as familiar as her own shadow. Constant, yet not unpleasant. In fact, it gives her a sense of security and comfort, knowing that he would always be there, watching her.

And she knew that he needed to know that.

She felt him hesitate when she still refused to speak. And she felt his fingers slowly slipping from her grasp as he mistook her silence for rejection.

No. Not this time.

_**You feel it in the way**_

It was sacrilege to touch her. He knew that very well. She was an untouchable, unreachable angel that he shouldn't even dream of having. And yet he still does – every single night, in fact. And he knew how wrong it was. That is why every single day, he watches over her and protects her in the best way he can, but he does so at a distance, so he wouldn't be tempted to claim what is never meant to be his.

So why did he touch her now? He knew he was only torturing himself. He tried to distance himself from her. He really did, especially this past week, with what happened between her and that man. He knew it was for the best. Having him around would have only confused her feelings, and he didn't want that for her, not when he saw that she seemed to be already sure of what – and who – it was she truly wanted.

Yet he couldn't bear to be away from her. He was like a moth so enraptured by the glow of her fiery beauty that he was dangerously close to burning in her flame. He ached for her, to be with her, even now when she was so close and yet still so far, still so unreachable. He had to touch her, even though he knew he could never have her, like a starving man having to gaze at a banquet he'll never be able to taste.

But was it really so wrong to want her like this? It was just as Kawashima-sensei said. He would fight for her till the end if she allowed him to. But what about her? Would she fight for him too?

He watched her as she stared at their entwined hands in silence. She didn't have to speak. He knew it was time to let go.

He smiled humorlessly. That's right. Why would she fight for someone she never needed, nor wanted, in the first place?

Yet as he started to remove his hand from hers, her grasp suddenly tightened and prevented him from letting go.

"You're not going to turn around and leave me alone again, are you?"

He stared at her in surprise as she half-turned to look in his eyes. Her tone was calm and even, and her eyes were steady as she gazed at him and waited for his answer.

Would she fight for him the way he was willing to fight for her? He wasn't so sure. But perhaps if he stayed by her side long enough, maybe he'll find out.

"No," he said quietly, and he reached out to grasp her other hand as well. "Not this time."

_**I can't put my fingers on**_

The music was nearing its climax. The dance floor was filled with couples now. And the two of them, teacher and student, woman and man, found themselves engulfed within the heart of it all. They stood there amidst the sea of people, away from the prying eyes and the listening ears they both secretly feared, in a solitary island where time stopped and nothing else mattered but the person whose hand they held. They didn't mind if the rest of the world went on around them, without them. For the moment, at least, they had each other.

_**Just what it is that makes me love you, you baby**_

She turned around to face him fully and offered him a small smile. "Oh? And what are you going to do this time?"

He felt his stomach flutter for a moment. Her smile could disarm him better than any of her yakuza moves can. "I was going to ask you to dance with me," he said as he lowered his gaze. He stroked his thumbs idly over her knuckles. "But then again, I'm not a good dancer."

She gently squeezed his hands in return. "So you're not going to dance with me?"

_**So don't ask me to describe**_

"I'm envious of Kawashima-sensei," she murmured. "Even though you say you can't dance, at least you still wanted to dance with her."

And before he could stop himself, he heard himself tell her, "But you're the one I really wanted to dance with."

_**I get all choked up inside**_

The surprise was evident in her features. "Then if you really wanted to dance with me, why didn't you ask?"

"I thought that perhaps you didn't want to be with someone like me."

_**Just thinking about the way**_

"Idiot," she whispered.

And as his eyes widened in disbelief, she let go of his hands and placed hers gently against his chest.

"Didn't you know?"

She stepped closer to him and laid her cheek against his heart. She smiled when she heard it beating in sync with her own.

"There is no one else in the world I'd rather be with…"

She closed her eyes contentedly.

"…than you, Shin."

_**It's in the way that you move me**_

His hands slipped around her waist and pulled her closer, ever closer. "No one else in the world you want to dance with, huh?" he murmured as he pressed his cheek against the side of her head.

He felt her smile against his chest as they started to move slowly to the music. "Not only dance with," she corrected him. "But _be_ with."

_**And the way that you tease me**_

His heart wrenched once more. The feeling was familiar by now. "You know that's not true, Yankumi."

Her answer was vehement. "Yes it is. And it's Kumiko."

_**The way that I want you tonight **_

"Why do you doubt me, Shin?"

The waver in her voice didn't escape his ears. He stroked her back comfortingly. "There are… things that I know of, Yan— Kumiko."

"And there are things that you still have no idea about."

_**It's in the way that you hold me**_

He let out a shuddering sigh. "What else is there to know?"

Her hands gripped his shirt tightly. "There's a lot more you should know."

_**And the way that you know me**_

"And I would've told you about them too. If only you had been around."

He felt her frame tremble slightly. It was a very small movement, but then again, he notices every little thing about her.

_**When I can't find the right words to say**_

"But you weren't. Because this past week, you've been avoiding me."

He closed his eyes, unable to answer.

"Shin… if only you were there…"

_**You feel it in the way**_

And suddenly he didn't want to hear what she had to say anymore. It didn't seem important now.

"If only you were there, I would've told you that—"

"Yankumi."

_**It's in the way that you move me**_

One of his arms went around her shoulders and crushed her to him. He heard her gasp.

"S-Shin…?"

_**And the way that you tease me**_

She was in his arms. That's all that mattered now. And at the moment, he didn't need anything else.

"I missed you."

_**You feel it in the way**_

His heartfelt, soft-voiced confession was almost too much.

"Idiot," she whispered.

_**You feel it in the way**_

"Say that again," she said quietly. "But this time… say it correctly."

He smiled. He understood.

_**There's something about the way you look tonight**_

"I missed you…"

And his arms tightened around her.

"...Kumiko."

_**There's nothing more to say then**_

Her soft chuckle tingled and tickled against his chest. "Idiot," she said again.

And then her arms traveled through his sides until they were around him. She held him there. And she did not let him leave her. She did not let him go.

"…I missed you too."

_**I feel it in the way.**_

* * *

A figure moved stealthily in the shadows of Shirokin Gakuen's grounds. He spoke in a low voice. 

"When do we attack?"

His companion didn't answer at once. He held up a hand to still the others behind him as he detected a movement near the gymnasium's main entrance. The door opened, and what he saw made him suddenly grin. The glint of his malicious eyes was reflected in the blade he held, and it flashed briefly in the darkness as he turned it over in his hand, readying himself.

"_Now._"

* * *

_End of chapter eight_

* * *

**A/N:** Have mercy on me and please, _please_ tell me that the WAFF wasn't as bad as I first thought it was. Gah. 

This chapter is already the start of the fic's turning point. The succeeding chapters will eventually ease some of the tension and suspense accumulated in this chapter and tie together loose ends. Ultimately, the whole truth will be unraveled, and I hope that some of the vague parts in this fic will be clearer by then.

Updates will be inconsistent from now on. I've learned my lesson and I don't want to set any more promised dates lest I disappoint you guys once again. The only thing I _can _promise is that this fic will be finished. And the only thing I can hope is that I've done a decent enough job in writing the fic to be worth the wait.

Thank you everyone, for all your support. :)

- shirotora-san

_On edit: WAFF is an acronym coined in the fanfiction world that stands for "Warm And Fuzzy Feeling." It's a term supposedly used for the kind of effect well-written romantic fanfics produce. _;)

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: **The lyrics used in this chapter were taken from the song "**The Way**" by Clay Aiken. The rights to the song don't belong to me, all right, so please don't sue. :) College life has already made me broke enough as it is, anyway. 


	9. Blood of the Past

**A/N**: FINALLY. My hell semester is _over. _Dear lord… I'm surprised I made it through alive. And to think that next semester will be even _worse_… heaven help me.

That's why I look forward to writing fanfiction. It's kind of therapeutic after all that stress from university work. :) So here's the latest installment of **Reward**. Thank you for still being here; for reading, for criticizing, and for being patient and understanding with a mediocre writer like me. Enjoy!

* * *

"**REWARD"**

A Gokusen Fanfiction

by shirotora-san

* * *

CHAPTER NINE

_**Blood of the Past**_

As he yawned and stretched his arms high above his head, Tetsu stepped out into the porch to make his final rounds before closing the Oedo household up for the night. He was able to take a few steps before he stopped and blinked in confusion. He narrowed his eyes and peered at the immobile figure standing in the middle of the garden – a sentinel guarding the dark night. He squinted and cautiously approached the lone statue, and slowly realized it wasn't an inanimate object after all; its shoulders were heaving up and down as it breathed the cool night air. And as he drew nearer, silver-blue light shone upon the gray yukata the figure wore and illuminated the lines in his familiar, worn face.

"Boss?" Tetsu called out hesitantly. "What are you still doing out here? It's late, you should be getting some rest," he said as he walked over towards the older man. He knew he shouldn't be surprised the Kumichou of the Oedo clan was able to cloak his ki so well, even within familiar territory, but Kuroda Ryuuichirou's unmatched skills never fail to awe him still.

The older man turned his head slightly towards him. He didn't speak, and only offered a small smile to his subordinate. Tetsu stopped walking then, struck by the strangeness of that smile. It was gentle and melancholy – an inner happiness veiled in the shadow of longing. But before he had time to mull it over, Tetsu's attention was diverted when his boss tilted his head backwards to stare at the heavens above them.

Tetsu stepped forward and followed the older man's gaze. He smiled when he saw the perfectly round globe floating among the velvet sea of stars and shining with a subtle silver-blue glow. "It's the night of the full moon," he commented.

Kuroda heard his subordinate speak, yet the words did not register. The words he was hearing inside his mind were the words exchanged more than a decade ago on a moonlit night like this – words he now wished he never spoke, words he wished he never heard.

"_You will not talk back to me like that, Yuriko!_" The words were harsh, the voice monstrous – a voice he barely recognized as his own._ "You will do well to listen to your father!_"

"_I refuse to listen to a traitor!_" Words that cut through him like a knife, even now.

"_It was the only way!" _Words trying to justify a mistake._ "There was nothing else I could've done!"_

"_You could have saved her!" _Words that haunted him to this day.

"_I warned you about her, but you did not listen!" _Words magnified as he stood up in fury._ "That is the price she pays – the price _you _pay for disobeying me!"_

"_He was right. Kyosuke was right all along." _Words of realization – of betrayal._ "I didn't believe it – I didn't _want _to believe it. But I know better now. I know what I have to do."_

"_Where are you going?" _Words spoken as she turned her back on him.

"_I'm leaving, Father. And don't even try to stop me, because I am never going to step foot into this prison you call a house ever again!_" Words of an oath that became true.

"_So you're going to turn your back on your family? On the people who made you who you are? And because of what, a man's feeble promise? A poor man who can barely afford to place a meal on the table?" _Words he never wished to speak of a good man.

"_Kyosuke loves me! And he loves me more truly and completely than you ever did!" _Words that carried the truth he refused to believe.

"_You have no right… you don't know…_" Words lost in hurt and anger, his voice cracking. _"Don't ever forget who you are, Yuriko. You owe that to me. To your family."_

"_Then I owe you nothing. Because I never wanted to be who I am." _Words finally spoken after years of silence.

Words spoken as he turned his back on her. _"Leave. Now. And from this day forward, you have no family to return to." _Words he wished he could take back.

"_I fought for my family for so long, believing that they'd do the same for me. But I guess I was wrong, wasn't I, Father?" _Words spoken through tears. _"I was wrong to place my faith on a family who makes a living out of lies._" Words that shattered him.

"_Don't call me 'Father.'" _Words that destroyed the one family he had left._ "I never had a daughter."_

"_Then we're even." _Words that destroyed the one family she left behind._ "Because I never had a family."_

"Boss?" A single word, spoken in the present, uttered in concern and worry. Kuroda was pulled back to reality, emerging from his own world that trapped him within memories of a nightmarish event seventeen years past. As Tetsu watched, Kuroda turned his head towards the porch as another memory surfaced from a more recent past, several moonlit nights ago.

"_I used to believe in something that felt absolutely right. I trusted in it. And I fought for it._"

She had always been similar to her mother in many ways, even her voice and her features. Her eyes were the only ones different. She always had her father's eyes – and her father's way of seeing.

"_And now suddenly… I'm starting to doubt my reasons for believing in it. For fighting for it. The strong faith I once had in it is slowly weakening._"

"Boss… is something wrong?"

Kuroda turned his gaze back to silver-blue globe watching them serenely from the heavens. "It's beautiful isn't it?" was his response to Tetsu's inquiry. "The full moon."

Tetsu pressed his lips together. The older man didn't answer his question. "Boss, we really should be getting inside now…"

"_I don't want my shin to change anymore. I lost track of what I used to believe was my real shin._"

"Ah, but look, Tetsu…"

"_This shin I'm feeling now… I don't want to lose my faith in this one. I don't want to lose this shin."_

"The moon…"

And he smiled as the memory was replaced by a name that suddenly flashed in his mind – one that he once saw on a test paper with a perfect score.

"…is shining its brightest tonight."

**

* * *

**

It should have been their perfect moment. Everything was as it should be. She was as beautiful as an angel that descended from heaven; fire burned brightly once more in the embers which were his eyes. The lyrics of the first song they danced together to, they realized, were the words that fit exactly what they were feeling, what each longed to say to the other but just couldn't. They were finally in each other's arms, and this time, they knew no one was around to take one away from the other.

It should have been their perfect moment. Yet both Yamaguchi Kumiko and Sawada Shin felt there was something wrong.

Maybe it was because Shin saw from behind Kumiko how Noda and Shizuka, who just a moment ago had something akin to admiration shining in their eyes as they smiled at and danced with each other, now let go of each other and stared at their direction, looking thoroughly worried and confused.

Maybe it was because Kumiko saw from behind Shin how Kuma approached them not with his usual carefree swagger, but with a quick, urgent stride. He didn't even acknowledge the fact that his teacher and his best friend were embracing each other in such a forbidden gesture.

But more than anything, it was because when both Shin and Kumiko turned around, Minami stepped out from behind Kuma and they saw something they did not want to see in his eyes.

_Fear. _

Shin and Kumiko looked at each other. Something was _terribly _wrong.

Teacher and student reluctantly let go of each other as Noda and Shizuka moved to stand beside them. They all watched Minami apprehensively as the crowd around them roared joyously and danced to the bopping rhythm of the club music the DJ put on.

Shin stepped forward and gently laid a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Minami…?"

He looked up and opened his mouth, but no words came out. A sense of foreboding came upon Shin just then, and Kumiko narrowed her eyes when she saw Minami tremble.

Sensing that his friend was too shocked at the moment to speak, Kuma was the one who broke the news. Even the music blaring from the speakers wasn't able to drown out the shattering impact the words brought. With a calmness that was uncharacteristic of him, Kuma spoke gravely.

"Uchi's been kidnapped."

* * *

The same full moon that rose above the rooftop of the Oedo compound shone down upon another lone figure that stood amidst the shadows of an abandoned warehouse several miles away. Kuroda didn't know it at the time, but this figure was watching the silver-blue globe unseeingly as well, and it, too, was reliving the past it wasn't able to escape – the past they _both_ unknowingly played a part in. The figure threw the cigarette it was smoking down on the ground and crushed it with the heel of its shoe, as if crushing the bitter, painful memories along with it. 

The tell-tale sounds of tires screeching against cement broke the stillness of the night, and the figure turned its head to see a black van rolling around the corner. The figure smiled, and it walked slowly towards the van to welcome their special guest.

The van's doors opened and several men stepped out. After a moment of furious scuffling and wrestling, the men forced a bound and gagged young boy to come out. The dark-haired teenager saw the figure approaching them, and his eyes widened in shock – and recognition.

The figure allowed a satisfied smile to grace its lips for a moment before it motioned the men to take the boy inside with a tilt of its head. Anger flashed in the young boy's eyes, and he struggled more violently against the men holding him, as if he wanted to charge at the figure watching them coolly several feet away. Running out of patience, one of the men withdrew a gun from his belt and used it to deal a hard blow on the boy's head. His struggling ceased, his body went limp and his head lolled forward, struck immediately unconscious. The men dragged his body carelessly inside the warehouse, leaving a dark, ominous trail on the ground as blood dripped from the boy's head.

* * *

"Sawada!" Kumiko cried out when the boy broke into a run towards the door. "You idiot, where do you think you're going?!" She pursed her lips and hiked up her dress as she ran after him. The others looked at each other, and after a heartbeat's moment of hesitation, they came to a grim agreement and followed the two out the door. 

The main entrance door to the gymnasium nearly broke off its hinges as it slammed violently against the wall when Shin charged through. His eyes quickly scanned the surroundings and he immediately noticed that something was amiss. It was then that a thought suddenly occurred to him, and he ran down the steps to confirm his suspicions.

Kumiko burst through the door just in time to see Shin disappear round the corner of the gymnasium. She turned to follow him before she slowed to a stop when she saw a strange dark trail marring the grass beneath her feet, leading towards the back of the gym. She crouched down to look at it more closely, and her eyes widened when she realized it was blood.

Fear seized her heart. _"Shin!_" She sprinted towards the back of the gym and saw him standing motionlessly and staring at the thick cluster of bushes lined near the wall. "Shin…?" Kumiko tentatively approached him, before she saw with narrowed eyes what caught his attention. Her heart jumped to her throat. A hand, still and deathly-white, was poking through the cluster of leaves.

She quickly brushed past her student's still form towards the bushes just as the others appeared behind them. She pushed the thorny branches aside, and the leaves parted to reveal a shocking sight. The pounding music coming from inside the gym drowned out the bloodcurdling scream Shizuka let out.

Two bodies littered the ground, lying in a small pool of fresh blood that dripped from the wounds on their heads.

Noda held Shizuka's trembling form in his arms as Kumiko quickly kneeled down and felt the men's pulse. She let out the deep breath she didn't realize she was holding. "They're all right," she announced to the others as she stood up. "They're just unconscious." She turned to Kuma. "Get Kawashima-sensei. And hurry." Her portly student nodded and quickly went back the way he came.

Shizuka looked up from Noda's shoulder as he stroked her back comfortingly. "W-Who are they?" she spoke, her voice cracking as she tried to hold back frightened tears. "What happened?"

It was Shin who answered. "They're the undercover police officers that Kyoto hired." He stepped forward as he eyed the men's immobile bodies. "These two were assigned to guard the main entrance. I recognize them from when we first entered the gym."

Kumiko looked up at him as he reached her side, and she finally understood what made him run here. "If Uchi had been kidnapped, they should have been the first ones to witness the abduction," continued Kumiko. "They should have been able to respond quickly to the situation."

"They were the first people I looked for when I ran out," said Shin. "When they were nowhere to be found, I realized that something must have happened to them."

Shizuka's eyes widened. "Then whoever took Uchiyama knew that they had to get rid of the officers patrolling the area first before they can carry out the abduction!"

"Exactly," said Kumiko. "This was a planned kidnapping. They knew the circumstances that surrounded Uchi when they decided to take him."

"But Uchi wouldn't be that stupid to wander out on his own!" Noda protested. "Especially since he knew—"

Noda broke off. Shin's eyes widened. And Minami looked away.

Kumiko's eyes narrowed. "Are you guys hiding something?"

She met Shin's gaze and saw the look of silent apology in his eyes. He turned to Minami. "Was it them?"

With great difficulty, Minami turned to look at them. "Yes. They came to get back at him." He looked utterly forlorn… and terribly guilty.

Shizuka blinked, looking thoroughly confused. "Them who?"

"The people Uchi was working for," Noda answered.

"Uchi had a _job_?" Kumiko exclaimed.

"Yeah," said Noda. "But he broke the contract he had with them and escaped. Now these people are out to get him."

"That's crazy," Shizuka interrupted before Kumiko could ask what exactly Uchi's job was. "Even if that were true, why would they go to the trouble of kidnapping him? If it was a legitimate business, they could have just simply sued him."

"That's exactly the problem." Everyone turned to look at Shin, who spoke grimly. "It wasn't a legitimate business. The people Uchi was working for… they were involved in illegal matters. They're from the underground."

Kumiko's eyes widened.

"Uchi was kidnapped," Minami said, and every word seemed to tear him apart. "Because they want to silence him."

The dreadful implications of that statement hung deathly-silent in the air.

"What's going on?" Kikuno's voice broke the silence choking each one of them. She arrived at the scene, with Kuma following closely behind. "Why are you all here? And why are you all so quiet?"

Shin and Kumiko turned to look at her. Both of them stepped back to reveal the ghastly sight to the wide-eyed nurse.

"What the hell happened here?!" Kikuno cried out as she rushed forward and kneeled before the men's bodies. She checked their pulse much in the same way that Kumiko did before she demanded, "Who are these people? What are they doing here?"

"They're police officers," Shin answered. "They were knocked out before Uchi was kidnapped."

"Uchiyama was _what_?" Kikuno shrieked.

"We'll explain later," said Kumiko tiredly. "The important thing right now is to make sure these men's injuries are attended to. And we also have to figure out where the kidnappers might have taken Uchi."

"I should have known bringing a first-aid kit to a school dance was a terrible omen," Kikuno muttered as she opened the kit she brought along with her and started tending the men's wounds.

"Well, it was a good thing you did," said Noda. "You'll be able to save these men's lives."

"Tell me about it. These men received some pretty hard blows. Had these been dealt a little harder, it would have been fatal," said Kikuno as she worked quickly on the men's injuries. "The reason why these men are able to survive is because they put up quite a struggle. It's apparent with the other injuries they have. The kidnappers must have had a hard time with them, that's why they didn't bother to kill them. The abduction had to be efficient, after all." She turned to the Section 3-D adviser. "Whoever the people involved in this kidnapping are, they know how to fight."

Kumiko pressed her lips together and didn't answer. She had already reached that conclusion.

"I still don't understand," Shizuka spoke up. "If what you guys are saying is true, then why would Uchiyama be so careless to let his guard down, especially on a night like this?"

"The girls he was with brought him out," said Kuma. "He thought they were just going to look for a place where they can make out."

"Girls?" Shizuka's eyes widened. "You mean the girls from Hanasho Gakuen? _They're_ working with the kidnappers?"

"It was Ayumi."

Everyone turned to Minami in surprise. "Ayumi?" Kumiko repeated. "Your ex-girlfriend? _She's _from Hanasho Gakuen?"

Minami nodded. "It was Ayumi and her friends. They lured him out into the open. Uchi didn't recognize her because she changed the style and color of her hair."

Kumiko's eyes widened. It was all making sense now. "That was why Uchi dyed his hair back to black, wasn't it?"

When the others looked confused, Shin sighed. "That's right," he said. "One of Uchi's defining features is his hair. Since he was trying to hide from these people he escaped from, he figured he has to make sure they'll have trouble recognizing him."

Kumiko narrowed her eyes. "So all these happened just recently?"

Shin looked at her. "Yes."

"Then why didn't you guys tell me?!" Kumiko burst out. She turned to Noda angrily. "I thought you said you guys already trusted me!"

"We do," answered Noda quietly. "Believe me, Yankumi, Uchi was trying to protect you."

Kumiko didn't seem to have heard him. "And why would Uchi go through the trouble of working for an illegal business?"

"He needed the money."

The Section 3-D adviser turned slowly to the class leader. She was trembling from trying to control the sudden fury that rushed through her veins at his words. "Money?" she repeated, a quiet, dangerous lilt in her tone. "He was willing to risk his sorry ass for _money_?" She couldn't stop her voice from rising at that last statement.

"He was willing," answered Shin in a controlled voice that matched his teacher's. "To risk his sorry ass for a life more precious than his own."

And for the first time, the flash in their eyes was directed at each other.

"There's something I want to know," Kikuno spoke up, once more breaking the tension that suddenly suffused the air. "How did you guys know Uchi was kidnapped?"

The others looked at Kuma, who in turn looked at Minami. "I saw Uchi and Ayumi flirting with each other earlier this evening," explained Minami. "Naturally, I became curious when I saw them heading out the door. So I followed them. By the time I caught up to them… it was already too late."

Kuma stepped forward and put a hand on Minami's shoulder when the boy couldn't speak anymore. "As soon as Uchi was alone with Ayumi and the others, a black van suddenly pulled up. The girls quickly ran back inside as several men stepped out of the van and forcibly took Uchi. At least, that's the story Minami told me."

Shizuka shook her head in disbelief. "But why would Ayumi-san allow herself to be a part of this horrible crime?"

"She was threatened," Shin interjected. "Wasn't she, Minami?"

Minami's hands curled into fists. "It was all Watanabe's doing."

"Watanabe?" Kikuno repeated as her eyes widened. "The leader of Ara Gakuen?"

"That's her boyfriend, right?" said Kumiko. "The one who beat you and Sawada up before."

Minami nodded. "Yes, that's him," he said. "By a strange twist of fate, it turned out that the Watanabe family is the one running the business Uchi worked for."

_Watanabe_? Kumiko's eyes widened as the name finally registered in her mind. _No way… it can't be!_

Kikuno turned to look at them in sudden realization. "Then that means Uchi isn't the only one they're after."

"Watanabe's also using him…" Shizuka looked at Minami. "In order to have his revenge on _you._"

The boy hung his head in shame.

Kumiko's eyes narrowed.

Minami looked up when Shin clamped a hand on his shoulder. "Idiot. Don't look so down." The class leader smirked. "It doesn't suit you."

"It's not your fault." Kuma offered him a small smile. "We weren't able to protect him either."

Noda stepped forward. "No one here is blaming you, dude. If Uchi was here, I'm sure he'd say the same."

"I'll bring him back," Shin said suddenly. "So he'll be the one to properly scold you." And with that, he turned on his heel and moved to leave.

"You really are a cheeky little brat, aren't you?"

Shin stopped in his tracks. "Stay out of this, Yankumi."

"Oh, so _now _it's back to 'Yankumi,'" Kumiko spat out. The others backed away, looking confused and a little frightened. "So, _Sawada_, what do you plan to do? You don't even know where they took Uchi!"

Shin spun around and glared at her. "I'll find him."

Kumiko folded her arms across her chest and raised her eyebrows at him. "And how, pray tell, are you going to do that?"

"I think I know where they might have taken him."

Both turned to look at Minami in surprise. "What do you mean?" Kumiko asked.

"Well," said Minami hesitantly. "I overheard one of the men who stepped out of the van ask where they're going to next. One of them answered that they're going to the abandoned warehouse at the edge of the town, near the seaport."

Kumiko slowly lowered her arms at that. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. Something is _definitely_ not right here.

"That's quite far from here," said Noda. "It'll take a long time to get there. By the time we find Uchi, the kidnappers might already have—"

"_No_." Shin interrupted him. "I won't let them."

"Sawada!" warned Kumiko when he moved to leave again. "Stop acting so rashly! You don't know what you're getting yourself into!"

"_I won't let them hurt Uchi_!" Shin burst out.

"Don't be so full of yourself, idiot!" Kumiko answered hotly. "Two skilled police officers were effortlessly knocked out! This isn't something trivial you juvenile delinquents get caught up in!" Shin curled his fists angrily as Kumiko continued her tirade. "We're dealing with something bigger here, something much more dangerous!"

"Don't speak as if I can't protect myself!"

"You and Uchi are still my responsibility!"

"Oh don't give me that bullshit. We may just be students to you, _Yankumi_, but Uchi is much more than that to me. He's a friend, a brother, the family I never had! I can't let them hurt him!"

"I know that! But I can't let them hurt _you _too!"

"I don't care what happens to me as long as I can save Uchi!"

"Well _I _do! I'll never forgive myself if something happened to you!"

"Why do you care so much about what will happen to me?"

"_BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU, SHIN_!"

Five mouths dropped open and five pairs of eyes widened as the rest of them watched the exchange between teacher and student in stunned silence. Seemingly caught off guard by her own outburst, Kumiko turned her back on her dark-haired student, cheeks flushed in both embarrassment and anger.

"Then you know exactly how I feel about you," Shin said quietly. "Kumiko."

He ignored the surprised looks his friends shot his way as he stepped forward towards her. "You're always the one protecting me. Protecting us." He gazed at his friends briefly before he turned back to her. "This time…" And he gently took her hand. "Let _me _protect _you._"

Kumiko slowly turned around to look at him, and he gazed into her eyes like he did that time in the classroom. "Shin…"

Kikuno cleared her throat loudly. "I hate to break up the moment, but we need to keep our heads on and act fast. Fighting won't get us anywhere." Shin reluctantly let go of Kumiko's hand as Kikuno motioned to the men lying on the ground. "I've clean the wounds up the best I could, but we need to move them to a safer place."

She stood up to face them. "Noda, go to the main building and look for the janitor," she ordered. "Ask him for the key to my clinic. Unlock the clinic and prepare two folding beds. Then get two stretchers and return here as soon as possible. Ask the janitor to help you."

Noda nodded in affirmation before he took off towards the direction of the main building.

Kikuno turned to the others. "Minami, Kumai, get back inside the gym and round up as many of your friends as you can. Do this very discreetly so you won't attract attention. We need their help in carrying these men to my clinic."

Kuma nodded. "And we'll tell them about what happened to Uchi."

"NO!" Kikuno, Kumiko and Shin cried out in unison.

Kuma blinked, taken aback. "Why not?"

"Section 3-D have their hearts in the right place, but their minds are located somewhere else," Kikuno said wryly. "They might do something rash—" and she couldn't help but glance at Shin "—if they find out what happened."

Shin pursed his lips but was forced to agree. "We can't let anyone else find out what happened tonight."

Kuma looked surprised. "Even the police? Or the teachers, at least?"

Shizuka and Kikuno looked at each other.

Shin couldn't keep the bitterness out of his voice. "Especially not the teachers."

"At least," added Kumiko. "Not until the dance is over."

"Why should we wait that long?" Minami demanded.

"Because of Shirokin Gakuen's reputation," Shizuka answered. "This inter-school dance is a first for Shirokin Gakuen, and it's an important event in the eyes of the committee on education."

"So what?" Minami exclaimed. "We need as much help as we could possibly get in saving Uchi!"

"The school already has a bad reputation," Kikuno explained. "If this incident goes out, the school's reputation will be sullied even more. Shirokin Gakuen might close down… permanently."

Minami looked outraged. "So you guys are willing to risk Uchi's life just to protect the school?"

"Not just the school," answered Kumiko. "But Uchi himself."

Minami turned to her. "What do you mean?"

Kumiko spoke gravely. "If Kyoto finds out that Uchi has been dealing with people from the underground, he'll be expelled for sure. I'm still not sure what kind of job it was, or how Uchi got himself involved in it, but I trust him enough to believe he had a good reason for doing so." Shin turned to her in surprise, and Kumiko glanced into his wide eyes for a moment before continuing. "But I'm willing to bet that Kyoto wouldn't listen to him. If this incident gets on Uchi's record, no other school will ever accept him as a student."

"Assuming, of course," added Shizuka. "That Uchi is able to return."

Minami turned to her sharply. "_Don't say that_!" he whispered fiercely.

Shizuka sighed. "Sorry. I didn't mean it that way."

"But it's not just Uchi, isn't it?"

All of them turned to Kuma, who seemed to have suddenly realized something important. "If this gets out… because she's the one in charge of our class…" He turned to Kumiko with wide eyes. "Yankumi will be forced out of the school too. And Yankumi's reputation as a teacher will be—!"

"I don't care what happens to me," Kumiko flatly interjected. "But I can never forgive the people who dared hurt Uchi."

Shin smirked at her. "Who's acting rashly now?"

"Stop it, both of you," Kikuno snapped. She turned to the Section 3-C adviser. "Fujiyama-sensei, you should go inside with Minami and Kumai. Keep an eye on everyone else. While we want to keep this incident to ourselves for as long as possible, I trust that when the time comes, you'd know what to do." Kikuno's expression turned grave. "And you'd know who we should trust."

Shizuka nodded grimly. "I'll go inform Shinohara-san." She turned around and was about to leave when Kikuno's voice stopped her.

"You won't find him inside."

Everyone turned to the nurse in surprise. Kikuno looked at them all slowly before she took a deep breath. And with great difficulty, she made the second shocking announcement of that night.

"Shinohara-san is also missing."

Kumiko's eyes widened.

Shizuka pursed her lips and turned to the two boys beside her. "Minami, Kumai, you two go on ahead inside. I'll catch up."

Both boys glanced at the Kikuno and hesitated. The nurse offered them a small smile and nodded. Taking that gesture as a cue, Minami and Kuma turned on their heel and ran back the way they came.

Kumiko's eyebrows furrowed. "What are you saying, Kawashima-sensei? What do you mean he's missing?"

"While you guys were dancing, Shinohara-san and I moved out of the dance floor to talk," said Kikuno. "After a while, he excused himself and said that he had to attend to something important. Before he went out, he promised he'd be back."

"He went out?" Shizuka repeated.

"Yes," said Kikuno. "But after several songs were done and he still didn't return, I started to get worried. I looked around inside the gym but he wasn't there, so I went out to search for him. That was when Kumai found me."

"Well, he wasn't out here either," Shin put in. "Do you think he saw Uchi's abduction?"

Shizuka's eyes widened. "What if he did, and he tried to stop the kidnappers by himself?" Her hands flew to her mouth as she gasped. "What if they took Shinohara-san too?"

"That's possible," Kumiko grimly answered. "Although if he witnessed the abduction itself, the kidnappers might have already… disposed him."

Kikuno covered her face with her hands. "Oh please don't put it that way."

To everyone's surprise, Shin stepped forward and laid a hand on the distraught nurse's shoulder. "Shinohara's a tough guy to beat," he said, and Kumiko raised her eyebrows as Shin glanced at her before he turned back to Kikuno. "He won't go down that easily."

Kumiko smiled. "Don't worry, Kawashima-sensei. We'll find him," she said reassuringly. "We'll bring him back along with Uchi."

Kikuno turned to her with wide, fearful eyes. "Yamaguchi-sensei… what if something bad happened to Shinohara-san? I don't know if I can take it."

"I'm going inside," Shizuka suddenly announced. "As soon as these men's bodies are moved to the clinic, I'll ask Section 3-D's help in looking for…" she trailed off, and she briefly closed her eyes. "For Shinohara-san's body. In case he was also knocked unconscious," she quickly added when Kikuno looked horror-struck.

Kumiko nodded her approval. "That means we're the ones going after Uchi."

"We?" Shin repeated dubiously. "What do you mean, 'we'?"

"We as in you and I." Kumiko smirked. "I'm not going to let you experience all the action. And don't even try to talk me out of this," she added when Shin opened his mouth to protest. "Because I'll have you know… Uchi isn't just a student to me. Not anymore."

She smiled at him when his eyes widened. "He's just as important to me as he is to you, Shin."

"Don't you guys have to hurry?" Kikuno interjected. "Who knows what those kidnappers might be doing to Uchi at this very moment!"

"Oh they won't hurt him."

Shin narrowed his eyes. "And just what makes _you_ so confident?"

The Section 3-D adviser turned around so that they wouldn't see the most dangerous look that ever flashed in her eyes. "Because I think I know what they're really after."

* * *

Red-orange light briefly illuminated the figure's face as it lit another cigarette. After a long drag, it watched with cold, hard eyes the wisps of smoke it exhaled rise up into the night, seemingly towards the silver-blue moon. 

"Otou-san, okaa-san… I hope you are watching. Tonight, the Oedo clan will get their due reward."

Its eyes traveled over to the dark trail that led up to the boy being tied securely to a chair deep within the warehouse. The figure's lips curved upwards into a sinister smile.

"And it begins…"

A wild, almost manic glint flashed in its eyes.

"…with Kyosuke-sensei's beloved daughter."

* * *

_End of chapter nine_

_

* * *

_

**A/N: **Ayumi and Watanabe are actual characters taken from the second episode of Gokusen's first season. Please refer to that episode if certain references to the said characters become confusing. :)

Here's where I begin to twist Gokusen's plot a little. Or at least, this is where it starts to become apparent. For those of you who were observant readers, you might have noticed that I've been twisting the plot since the beginning. I'm interested to hear about your speculations based on the hints I've already dropped. Hopefully I can still surprise you. ;)

- shirotora-san


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